Oral Presentation
by Of Healing Love
Summary: AU. College was never meant to be easy, per se, but it could have at least been considered manageable. May wasn't sure where she went wrong - was it when she started crushing on her TA or when she found out her boss was a drug dealer? Or perhaps it was when a dangerous gang leader started hitting on her and she accidentally gave him her number... Doesn't matter. She's screwed.
1. Chapter 1

_This fic is in commemoration of the remake of my favorite generation. I was so excited for Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby to come out! So, this is the result._

_Note: This chapter is very short, but it's more of an introductory chapter. The following chapters should be much longer, around 3,000-4,000 words._

_Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter One: The Time is Now<strong>

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><p>May had always considered herself something of a perfectionist and studious to a fault. Therefore, it was no surprise that with the outstanding effort she put into high school, she was accepted into Harvard. None of her friends were going to her school, though, and not only would she have to move across the country but also find employment to support herself financially. Even with her scholarship—unfortunately, it was not a full ride—the college savings, <em>and<em> student loans, she was going to be in a lot of debt by the time she graduated. Of course, she was studying marine biology with a minor in environmental sciences, so she was certain she would be able to get a decent job at the very least, but still.

However, getting into an Ivy League college was something that she wasn't going to pass up despite those _minor_ inconveniences.

Brendan, her best friend throughout high school, was seeing her off and had generously volunteered to drive her to the airport. Her father, a businessman who traveled more often than not, was out of town and her mother had the flu, so neither of them could go with her. May had already sold her car as she had heard it would not be absolutely necessary in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and she needed as few expenses as possible when she was just starting out on her own. Her parents weren't cutting her off, exactly, but they expected her to be independent as they both had been when they had just set off into the world.

"We're here," Brendan announced as they pulled up to the terminal. May had been able to fit all her worldly belongings into two giant suitcases. Her father had been willing to pay for the plane ticket and the first month's rent for her apartment, but other than that, she was on her own. Luckily, the airfare would cover her luggage.

"Thanks so much for driving me," May said with a grimace as she struggled and failed to lift her suitcase out of the sedan's trunk. Planting her foot on the bumper, she pulled with all her might and the luggage tumbled out, very nearly taking her down with it.

Brendan stifled a chuckle, having already easily lifted the other suitcase—which was, unfortunately for May's ego, the larger of the two—out of the car. "You should have just let me do it," he told her, steadying her on her feet before taking control of both suitcases.

"Yeah, well, _independence,_" May bit back snarkily. "You should have heard my dad go on about it. He's in Singapore and on deadline right now, but he still found half an hour to lecture me on how important it was that I learn to make it on my own."

Brendan only laughed. "At least your dad is there, right? I think all my dad said was 'Good luck, do your best, keep me updated.'"

"Oh, come on, don't exaggerate" May laughed as they made their way towards the line to check in luggage. Inwardly, May sighed. The airport was very busy and the wait in line might turn out to be even longer than the security check.

The boy shrugged good-naturedly. "I don't hold it against him or anything—I mean, his research is _really _important and all—but when he gets into it, he can be pretty…absentminded."

They sidled up to the back of the line. "Yes, yes he can," May agreed emphatically and they both laughed at Brendan's father, the well-known biochemist Professor Birch.

Surprisingly, the line didn't take nearly as long as May thought it would, although she was sad to realize that her time in Arizona was well and truly coming to an end. She and Brendan continued to reminisce through the wait and security check, but once they reached the counter, Brendan could go no further.

"Well…" May trailed off, uncertain of how to say goodbye to her best friend and archrival since childhood.

"I'll call you tonight," Brendan told her with a smirk, but even that seemed somewhat sad. "And text me when you land, okay?"

"Of course," she replied, her smile watery. "I'll miss you." Even though Brendan wasn't the cuddliest of best friends, he didn't fight her when she pulled him into a tight hug. He even returned it, which showed her just how much he returned the sentiment.

"I'll miss you, too," he whispered into her ear. Then, abruptly, he pulled out of the hug and put on a cheerful grin, holding her at arms' length. "Enjoy the cold weather!"

"Screw you," May snapped, shrugging off his hands and pulling her carry-on backpack higher up on her shoulder. Then, seriously and a bit uncertainly, "Call me?"

"Definitely," Brendan replied, pushing her forward. She smiled and started to head towards her terminal. When she glanced back, Brendan was still waving with a cheesy grin on his face and she waved back, giggling to herself.

With that, she blended into the crowd and made her way to her flight.

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><p>xXx<p>

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><p>One of the best things about air travel these days was that there was wifi on the plane and the regulations for using electronics on the plane were much more lax. The flight, including the layover, was a total of seven hours, and so May had a lot of time to blow before she reached her destination. It passed by quickly enough, but by the time she landed, it was dark out and around seven o'clock at night. She hadn't expected it, although she should have given the four hour time zone difference.<p>

She was glad she had received the apartment key ahead of time, because by the time she made it to her complex and figured out where her apartment was actually located within the complex, it was almost nine at night and the office was closed. Her arms were sore from dragging her luggage for at least three miles, not including the time on public transportation, and she had never been gladder that she had chosen a furnished apartment.

Slipping her key into the lock, she all but fell into the foyer, dropping her suitcases to the ground and shutting the door behind her. She flicked on the living room light, pulled off her shoes, and then proceeded to explore the apartment.

It was small studio apartment with a queen-sized bed in the far left corner, opposite the kitchen, a bookshelf, a loveseat and a desk for her laptop. However, all she wanted to do was order a pizza and relax. She had sent ahead kitchenware, toiletries, and bedding, thank god, so all she had to do was dress up the bed, plug in her laptop, order the pizza, and then chill for the rest of the night. School didn't start for another two weeks, giving her some time to scope out a job and get settled.

After she ordered the pizza, Brendan called, and they chatted until it arrived. Pepperoni, mushroom, and olive, just how she liked it.

She was eating in peace until, just outside her door, she heard muffled shouting. The words were unintelligible, although it was clear that both participants in the argument were male. In May's opinion, that was unsurprising. What _was_ surprising was the fact that it was happening in what was supposed to be a rather peaceful neighborhood. Nonethless, she ignored it until she heard a crack, the reverberations of something metal being hit, and a yell of pain. She immediately swallowed her food and listened intently. It was completely quiet afterwards and it was only after five minutes of total silence did May realize her heart was racing.

"Don't you dare talk back to me again, kid." The deep, masculine voice was now clearly discernable as one of the participants—obviously, the winner of the scuffle as well. "You'd best keep yourself in line if you ever want to make anything of yourself."

There was a dull thud and the whimper of a younger male. It sounded like the elder of the two had kicked the younger in the ribs. May swallowed heavily. What the hell was going on and why had nobody warned her about this kind of thing?

She waited another five minutes before creeping towards her door and opening it quietly. Luckily, the hinges were greased well enough and she was able to open the door undetected. It occurred to her then that she should have called the police, but when she peeked out through the crack between the door and its frame, there was no evidence of any fighting.

May shut the door and locked both the door and the deadbolt. She wasn't exactly sure what had happened out there and all she could hope was that it was a one-time thing. The apartment wasn't exactly cheap—at least, according to her standards. Then again, she wasn't all that certain as to what constituted cheap and expensive in Cambridge.

Her heart had finally calmed down and May decided that she would tell management about it the next day. However, she certainly wasn't going to tell her parents. She knew they would be concerned for her safety and it wouldn't do to worry them because this wasn't going to change anything. She had started taking self-defense classes when she turned sixteen, at her mother's behest, and she was certain that she could handle herself as long as she did her best to be as inconspicuous as possible and perhaps not stay out too late at night.

May was exhausted from the adrenaline rush and collapsed on her bed. It was almost eleven, so it was probably a good idea to go to bed now anyway—the job hunt started tomorrow.

Pushing aside her suspicious thoughts about what kind of neighborhood she had moved into, May closed her eyes and let herself drift off into dreamless sleep.

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><p><em>Any thoughts as to what was going on outside May's door? Kudos to the reviewer who gets it!<em>

**Question: If you could join either Team Aqua or Team Magma, which would you choose?**


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey everyone! New chapter up just because I got such a good response!_

_Warnings: Drug use and questionable language_

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: Shady Like a Tree<strong>

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><p>The first thing May noticed upon walking out of her apartment at nine o'clock in the morning was that Boston weather wasn't quite as hot as Arizona.<p>

It was actually kind of nice.

The sun was out but it wasn't beating down on her like a slave driver. There was a pleasant breeze that wasn't too chilly but rather fanned her gently and kept her from sweating. She supposed it was probably about seventy-five degrees out and she was relieved that she didn't even need the light jacket she had been planning to wear, unfamiliar with the weather patterns as she was up here.

She was on the first floor and had a nice little porch area that she could see herself decorating with a few plants and whatnot. She faced a small courtyard with tall maple trees dotting the landscape and what appeared to be freshly manicured lawns between the two sidewalks. The sky was a pristine blue and she could see it clearly after stepping out from under the awning of her porch.

She was on the corner of her building with a large sidewalk between her apartment and the next, so she only had one neighbor—who she realized was sitting outside on his own little porch in an outdoor canvas chair, smoking a cigarette. The smell was what caught her attention and she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

He was a rather big man, dwarfing the chair he was sitting it. At a glance, he was probably three or four inches over six feet tall, but he wasn't gangly or awkward with his height. He had large, muscled arms that were accentuated almost too much as he was wearing only a wife-beater and they were covered in what appeared to be tribal tattoos or some such. His long legs were crossed casually but also appeared to be just a muscled as the rest of him through the tight jeans. A blue bandana covered his head, matching his piercing blue eyes, and his lower jaw was covered in grizzle.

He snorted suddenly, making eye contact with her, and May realized she had been staring. Scrambling to save face, she quickly turned and said, "Hi! I'm your new next door neighbor! My name is May."

The look he gave her was appraising and a little skeptical. "New neighbor, eh?" May realized that he had a deep, baritone voice and it sent up a red flag in her head, but she ignored it for the sake of not making an idiot out of herself. The man stood and May realized that he definitely towered over her five-foot-six form. "Archie." He offered his hand and May shook it, not surprised when her hand was completely covered by his.

The handshake was swift and to the point. Archie took a long drag off his cigarette and, after exhaling, asked, "Here for college?"

May discreetly covered her distaste for the foul smoke in her face by smiling and answered, "Yeah. I'm going to be a freshman at Harvard."

"Hn," he grunted, taking one last drag off the cigarette before dropping it, stomping on it with a booted foot, and then tossing it into a small pot that she assumed was originally meant for plants and had been turned into an oversized ashtray. It was over halfway full, too. "Guess this place was the cheapest thing you found?"

May sagged a little. "Yeah…" She was then reminded of the shouting and apparent violence from last night. She glanced at the metal pole that was to her left, supporting the awning. That was probably what the younger guy had been slammed against. From its thickness, she could only assume it was the collision with his head that would make it ring like it had.

"Cambridge ain't a cheap place to live," Archie told her as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "It's probably too late to move, but I figure I'll tell you anyway—this area of town is infested with thugs and gang members. They call themselves Team Aqua. Not people you wanna get involved with, you hear me?"

May felt her stomach drop, but steadfastly did not allow her discomfort to reflect on her face. "It'll be okay," she said, more to herself than to him. "My dad insisted I take self-defense classes when I turned sixteen and I've been keeping up with them. I should be able to defend myself well enough."

Archie eyed her and then laughed, a deep, hearty chuckle. "Well, then, you'll do okay. Probably wanna wear a hood, though, to cover your pretty face." He smirked at her.

May flushed, not sure if she was pleased or creeped out by the compliment. Archie was handsome enough, but not quite her type. She liked slightly more feminine men and Archie was the epitome of masculinity. Of course, not in a bad way; she could see many women flocking to him. He simply oozed strength and power. Although that kind of thing wasn't necessarily what she was into, she couldn't deny the appeal.

"Haha, yeah…" she replied weakly. For a quick and potentially helpful change of discussion, she asked, "Do you know of any places that might have a job opening? I'm a little late so I know that the pickings will be slim, but I _really_ need a job."

"Huh." Archie scratched his chin contemplatively. "All I know is that you should definitely stay away from Maxine's Bakery," he told her, laughing a little to himself at a joke she didn't catch. "Not a good place to work for someone like you."

May wasn't quite sure why a bakery would be a bad place for 'someone like her' to work, but she decided that she could well enough heed his advice. Unless, of course, it was the only place that had an opening—then she would have no other choice. Her plan to stay at Harvard didn't work out financially if she didn't have a job.

"Thanks for the warning," she said with a smile. "I should probably get going, though. You have a nice day."

Archie grunted in response and nodded in a way that probably meant he was returning the nicety before turning and heading back into his apartment. May sighed once he was gone and began to walk towards the bus stop. Her purse was safely tucked under her shoulder and inside was a map. She decided that she would search for places along her bus route first, then go to more obscure areas if that didn't work out.

She headed out.

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><p>xXx<p>

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><p>Maxie's Bakery…was that the place she wasn't supposed to work at, or was there also another bakery with a very similar name? May wasn't sure. However, any "Now Hiring" sign that didn't have an big black X on it was a plus to her.<p>

She had spent the last three hours scouring the streets for a job—she had started on Campbell and Main and simply walked down the long road, which had stores on both sides and seemed to be a commercial area for small businesses. May was a little surprised, although she supposed she shouldn't have been. Of course a college town would have lots of local businesses—they had plenty of potential customers and employees. Coffee shops seemed to be a big thing around here.

Unfortunately, when she did happen to come across sign that said "Now Hiring", it was usually struck through with an X, as if the owner couldn't be bothered to take down the sign once his staffing was complete. May soon came to hate those pieces of paper.

The first place she found was a corner mart. She took the time to fill out an application, and although they said they would accept it for review, she was informed that there were a lot of people ahead of her who had already applied. May had glanced down at the job experience of her application where it was dismally blank and knew immediately that she wouldn't be getting this job. Still, she gave them the form on the off chance she got lucky and headed out to apply elsewhere.

She filled out applications at two different coffee shops, gave her number to an Indian man at a gas pump, and even applied at McDonald's, which she had never thought she would do.

At long last she had come across a pizza parlor with "Now Hiring" painted in big, bold letters across the inside of the glass window and May thought her salvation had come. However, when she walked inside, they told her that they weren't actually hiring anymore—they just hadn't had the time to wash the paint off. May had filled out an application anyway, _just in case_.

And now she had stumbled upon Maxie's Bakery. She was tired, she was hungry, and she was in a most foul mood, but she couldn't give up the search just yet. She took a moment to compose herself outside the store, inspecting her potential workplace.

The exterior of the building was clean and orderly, the large glass windows that were the front walls free of smudges and the like. Through the windows she could see rows upon rows of pastries and the delicious smell of freshly baked bread was permeating the air around the store. May looked once again to the "Now Hiring" sign pasted onto the interior of the window. The whole place seemed inviting enough and the smell of bread from scratch was something that May couldn't pass up. Inwardly, she hoped she got this job. How nice would it be to work in a place that smelled like cookies and cupcakes and warm bread all the time?

When she pushed the door open, a little bell tinkled. The bakery smelled even better on the inside and the atmosphere was warm and inviting. The floor was beige tile and the walls painted a light red—definitely not pink, but also not quite a true red, either.

A young man with stunningly orange hair stood at the counter. "Can I help you?" he asked politely. She noticed that he was wearing all red and boy, did that clash with his hair. May wondered if that was his uniform or if he really just had bad taste in color coordination.

"Hi," May started, "I saw that you're hiring?"

The boy's smile immediately dropped. "Oh." He looked at her strangely for a moment. "Well…"

May's shoulders slumped in immediate disappointment, but just then, a tall brunette walked out from the back and called, "Yes! We're hiring!"

The ginger-haired boy flinched and looked over his shoulder guiltily. An indiscernible look passed between the two and the boy turned back with a large smile on his face and nodded. "Yeah, we're hiring. Are you here to apply?"

May nodded, glancing from the brunette to the boy uncertainly. Were they or were they not hiring? Despite their odd behavior, she decided that a job was a job. "Yeah, I am. Do you have an application or something I can fill out?"

The brunette had gone back through the door and now reentered the front room with a basket of steaming buns that had quite obviously just come out of the oven. May noticed that she, too, wore all red. Must be a uniform thing. "Nah, we don't do stuff like that here. Everything's really relaxed and all." She turned to the boy with a warning look. "Tim, go get the boss."

Tim blanched before nodding quickly and then darted off through the door the girl had just come through. As she began bagging the buns, a dozen to a bag, she turned to May. "Name's Cassie. What's yours?"

"I'm May," May told her. While she was a bit suspicious of Tim, Cassie seemed friendly enough and she wouldn't mind making a friend on her job hunt, even if she didn't end up working at the bakery. "What are those?" She had never seen bread like that before.

"Oh, they're a special kind of bolillo." Cassie popped her gum. "The boss is pretty well traveled, so he brought the recipe back up here when he started the store."

"Oh, cool," May replied, staring at the oddly shaped buns. Whatever made them special definitely made them _special_. They smelled like nothing May had ever experienced, but it was delicious nonetheless. She noticed acutely that her mouth was watering.

Tim came back and poked his head out the "Staff Only" door. "Boss'll see you now."

May took a deep breath, smoothed out her shirt, and then walked around the display case of donuts before following Tim to the back.

They weaved through a large kitchen, past a break room, and down the hall to what appeared to be a cozy little office. Tim knocked, opened the door, and then opened the door for her so she could enter.

'Boss' was an extremely thin man with impossibly bright red hair and glasses. His expression was calm and collected and his skin was deathly pale in a way that gave May the impression he didn't see much sunlight.

He stood as the door closed. He smiled pleasantly, but it didn't seem like his face was used to the facial expression because the motion seemed forced. "Hello, I'm Maxie. And you are?"

"May," she replied. May noticed that, yet again, someone was wearing all red, although it appeared to be a little more formal than the aprons that Tim and Cassie had been wearing. They shook hands briefly before Maxie sat and motioned for her to do the same. "I came here because I saw that you're still hiring?"

Maxie nodded. "Yes…unfortunately, our last employee had something of an…accident."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," she said slowly. Somehow, the way Maxie had stressed the word 'accident' made it sound like not so much of one. She decided that she'd think about that later. Much later.

He nodded in agreement. "Anyways. Are you here for college?"

"Yes. I just moved here from Littleroot, Arizona and I'm about to be a freshman at Harvard."

Something lit up in Maxie's eyes that unsettled her. Perhaps it was how satisfied he was to hear that…she was from out of state? It certainly couldn't be that it was because she was going to college. From what May had seen, most of the people who worked in this area were also college students.

"Oh, Littleroot?" Maxie asked. Yes, he was definitely happy that she was from out of state, that was certain. "I've heard of it. Not a very big town, though, right?"

"No, not at all," May answered. "But I'm not a small town girl, so this is much nicer."

"Hm, I see. Now, what job experience do you have?"

"Very little," May said. "I've done volunteer work, but…"

"No worries," Maxie assured her with another one of the forced smiles. "I'm sure you've use a kitchen before?"

May laughed. "Of course."

"Then you'll do fine. Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions to see if you'll fit in around here…"

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><p>xXx<p>

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><p>An hour later, May walked out of Maxie's Bakery with a free sandwich made from fresh bread and a new job. She was a little surprised at how well it had gone, given that so many other places had been duds, but May supposed that it only took one buyer to sell the house, or in this case, only one store to hire her. With a little spring in her step, she began the walk back to the bus stop and swiped open her phone to call her mother to give her the good news.<p>

They talked for a bit, but when the bus came it was noisy and crowded, so May had to hang up the phone. She was glad to see that it was only one fifteen-minute bus trip from the stop outside of her new job back to her apartment. When she got off the bus, she realized that she had some grocery shopping to do and cursed. Grocery shopping tomorrow, take out now.

As she walked back towards her apartment, she noticed two men and a woman wearing blue bandanas standing in the courtyard, about thirty feet out from her unit. Two of them were passing back and forth something that was clearly _not_ a cigarette.

May frowned to herself and remembered Archie's words. _'This area of town is infested with thugs and gang members.'_ Keeping that in mind, she gave them a wide berth and pointedly avoided eye contact. Still, she couldn't help but overhear a bit of their conversation.

"…Boss kicked Trent's ass last night. Fucked up the whole thing and then went and sassed him. Stupid fucker," the only female was saying.

"The little bitch deserved it," one of the men said. "I knew he was a snitch. Boss gave it to 'im real good."

"Nobody fucks with Boss," the third member agreed breathily as he exhaled the smoke from the joint. At this point, May had safely made it to her door, blissfully undetected, and slipped inside. Once she was inside, she sighed and leaned back against the door heavily. She obviously lived in a worse area of town than she thought, even after Archie's warning. Whoever "Boss" was, she sure hoped she didn't encounter him. He seemed like a pretty terrible person in her opinion. However, if she kept to herself and didn't make a fuss, she was sure she'd never have to deal with such an unpleasant experience.

Feeling in the mood for Chinese, May looked up some menus online. The ones nearby were cheap, but didn't do delivery, and May didn't think she blamed them after seeing those people outside. They had all had a rough, rugged edge to them that screamed to normal people _'dangerous'_. May could only guess that at least one of the three lived in this apartment if they were hanging out here. Then again, smoking weed in public? Who was stupid enough to do that? Nonetheless, May decided that she was going to have to settle for pizza because she didn't want to go out to pick up food now that the sun was setting. She might not be able to move to another part of the city, but she would keep Archie's words in mind.

May sighed and looked up the number for the pizza parlor she had last night. At least she had a job, right?

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><p><em>So, to address reviews: a big Thank You to Jetraven Ex, F. Flotsam, mitzi, and Raeberry Swirl. You guys are awesome!<em>

_As for me, I'd definitely choose Team Aqua. Archie is awesome and I'm all for Pokemon, although I'm a bit dubious about their methods._

_Mitzi - if you can, PM me! I want to know as much about Massachusetts as I can, because I've never even been there. Thanks so much!_

**Question: If you could be any Pokemon in the Generation III, which one would you be?**

_Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Happy Thanksgiving everyone!_

_This is my Thanksgiving special for all you Americans! For everyone else, just enjoy the new chapter! :D It's a little bit longer than usual. I wanted to make it super extra long, but it kind of wrote itself and this is how it turned out. I hope you all like it!_

_Warnings: Questionable language_

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: Shake with One Hand, Punch with the Other<strong>

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><p>The next morning, May awoke to the loud, wall-penetrating sound of a large dog barking. It startled her and she shrieked as she shot out of bed, then tumbled to the floor in her panic. The sound was close, as if the dog were in her room, and she frantically looked around for the source of the sound.<p>

It was only a few seconds later, after finding her room somehow dog-free, that May realized the barking was coming from behind the next wall over. Archie's apartment, then.

The barking continued and May grumbled to herself as she untangled herself from the sheets and pushed herself up off the floor. Her rear hurt from the collision and she rubbed it in irritation, slowly standing and tossing the sheets back onto the bed. Daylight was peeking in from between her blinds, but given how dim the light was, it couldn't be too long after the crack of dawn.

May hadn't been aware that pets were allowed in this apartment complex, but it wasn't like she had been planning to take on the extra expense, anyways. She slowly made her way to the refrigerator, where leftover pizza was waiting for her. She had ordered something different the night before, a spinach and feta specialty pizza from the parlor that was now her go-to for pizza, and her stomach rumbled softly at the thought of it. It was much better than the usual pepperoni, mushroom, and olive, to her surprise, and as she reheated two slices in the microwave, May decided that this was probably her favorite pizza in the entire world.

The barking was incessant and she wondered if she should make a noise complaint. On second thought, she mused, it probably wasn't a good idea to make an enemy out of her only next-door neighbor this early on. Frowning, she glanced down at herself. The large black t-shirt and baby blue shorts she was wearing probably weren't appropriate attire when visiting a large, muscly male she had only met once. As the pizza revolved in the microwave, May quickly went to change into a pair of white skinny jeans and a red ruffled top from her as of yet still-unpacked suitcase.

The microwave dinged that her food was ready just as she was slipping on her black flats. The smell of the pizza was tantalizing, but that damn dog still hadn't stopped barking and May wondered what the hell Archie was doing that would delay him from making it shut up.

Tiredly, she opened her door and crossed the sidewalk over to Archie's front door. May hesitated before she knocked. The dog absolutely _had_ to stop barking, but she wasn't sure how to best approach the situation without offending Archie. She decided that she would play it as cool and polite as possible and hope that he wasn't easily pissed off.

She rapped on the door sharply three times and suddenly the barking stopped. She could hear claws scrabbling over what was either hardwood or tile and then a whining at the front door.

"Quit it, ya stupid mutt," she heard Archie's voice call from deeper within the apartment. She could vaguely pick out large, lumbering footsteps approaching the door. May took a deep breath and steadied herself. Now that the dog wasn't barking anymore, maybe…

The front door swung open and there stood Archie in nothing but black boxers that fit him just a little too well and a large navy blue New England Patriots t-shirt on…that fit him _way_ too well. May only had a second to register this before she was barreled over by a great blue monstrosity that sent her tumbling down to the ground into the grass.

She was being attacked! …by a wet, pink tongue and the dog was standing on her chest, making it rather difficult of breathe.

"Dammit, Kyogre!" Archie growled, stepping out of the house to grab the dog. May futilely pushed at the dog to get him—her?—off her chest, but the licking was incessant and May spluttered.

Archie grappled with the dog for a moment before grabbing its collar and dragging it bodily off her. May slowly sat up and wiped her face.

"She likes you," he said with vague interest, continuing to restrain the dog that was still lunging to get at May.

"Uh, yeah…I think I noticed," May said, still recovering from the 'attack'. The dog had quieted and was sitting restlessly, her short tail wagging like a motor as she rested puppy-dog eyes on May.

"Usually when she…attacks, it's with her teeth," Archie told her, sounding slightly perplexed. "So I guess you're a lucky one. Never seen her act like that before."

"Uh-huh…" May replied as she finally got to her feet. She watched Kyogre warily, not quite certain that even Archie could restrain her. She was whining pitifully and attempting to jump on her again, even though the large man kept a firm grip on her.

"Anyways, what did you need? It's fucking early," Archie asked, not seeming particularly imposed upon despite his harsh language. However, it was still a bit of an awkward situation.

May wasn't quite sure how to respond. He didn't _seem _pissed off or anything, but she didn't know if that would last if she scolded him about his loud dog. Still, she took the plunge. "Well, uh…Kyogre was being, um, a bit loud."

She waited with bated breath while Archie peered at her for a moment, but then released it when he let out a booming laugh. "Yeah, Kyogre's a loud one. I think she saw a squirrel out the window," he laughed. "This bitch's a crazy one. Kills everything she comes in contact with."

May blanched, but Archie didn't seem to notice. He was caught up in his amusement. She finally asked, "Does this happen, well, a lot?"

It was then that Archie sensed the problem. "Ah, no. I just forgot to close the blinds last night. She's a handful when she gets worked up, but she's usually pretty calm."

"Ah…huh." May nodded, thinking she understood.

"Yeah, well, sorry 'bout the racket," Archie said. "Looks like you were up and about anyways, though, eh?"

May glanced down at what she was wearing. Well, too late to tell him otherwise, nor would it do any good. "Yeah, I guess."

"You have any luck with the job hunt?" he asked smoothly.

May perked up. "Yup, I definitely did! And I didn't get a job at Maxine's Bakery or whatever, like you said." She didn't mention that they were awfully similar names, but she wanted to stay on Archie's good side, especially since he had a giant pit bull that was apparently usually pretty violent.

Archie chuckled. "Good, good. Glad to know you'll be stickin' around." He winked at her and May couldn't stop herself from blushing. It almost seemed like he was flirting with her, but…

Of course not. He was much older than her, probably in his late twenties or early thirties. It would have been flattering if he was, but May highly doubted it. Even if he _was _interested, she would have to say no. He just really wasn't her kind of guy.

"Yeah, well, like you said, it's not like there's going to be any other apartments up for rent, and I'm pretty sure the dorms have been full since June," she said with a laugh. "Not that I'd want to live on campus anyways. Too many rules."

Archie bellowed a laugh at that. "My kinda girl," he said with a smirk. May rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Well, I don't want to hold you up or anything. I'd better get going. My pizza is going to get cold."

"Haven't gone grocery shopping yet?"

May slumped a little. "No, not yet. Between moving in, finding a job, and…" getting woken up at six in the morning by a gigantic pit bull, "and all that, I haven't had the time."

"I was just cooking breakfast," he told her. "You're welcome to it, if you want. I made too much." He was watching her a little too closely.

Feeling a bit nervous at the sudden offer, May flushed a little and said, "Oh, I wouldn't want to be a bother. I already have pizza waiting."

Archie shrugged. "Have it your way, then. See ya around."

May smiled and waved before they both returned to their respective apartments. Archie was…friendly, if nothing else. Maybe a little too friendly, now that she thought about it.

But she wasn't going to think about it.

May ate her pizza and then looked at the clock. The grocery store probably wouldn't be open until nine, but she wasn't going back to bed anytime soon, so she decided to make a to-do list for the day. She needed to go to the grocery store, get her textbooks, and it would probably be a good idea to buy school supplies while she was running all these errands.

Jotting down a few other things she might as well do on her day off, May then set off to get on with her day.

* * *

><p>xXx<p>

* * *

><p>Maxie's Bakery paid a little bit over minimum wage and it wasn't a bad job. May spent the majority of her first day, two days after she had been officially hired, behind the cash register and was a little surprised at just how much business the bakery got. Apparently, she had come in during a slow hour when she applied. She was checking people out almost nonstop and May would being willing to bet that the majority of the people who came by were lured in by the delicious aromas coming from the kitchen.<p>

Cassie was friendly and, now that she was hired, Tim wasn't all that bad either. He still sent her odd looks from time to time—they started out as suspicious when her shift began at nine in the morning, but as the day went on they slowly morphed into something like confusion and then, surprisingly, what seemed like pity. May was a little wierded out by him, but she tried not to let it show and acted as casually as possible.

At the end of her shift, four on the dot, Cassie approached her. Maxie's closed rather early in comparison to all the other shops on the street, but May supposed that wasn't unusual for a bakery. In Littleroot, most home-owned bakeries closed in the middle of the afternoon, staying open just late enough to sell all of the day's baked goods.

"Hey, there's this new burger shop near Harvard Square. You wanna check it out? Me and some buddies of mine are going there in half an hour and I figure since you're new, you might want to make some friends," she said, leaning casually against the wall of the break room.

May glanced up from gathering her things into her messenger bag. She had been given a bright red uniform to wear when she arrived and was determined to never wear it outside the store. She had quickly changed back into her pink tank top and cutoff shorts as soon as she could—it seemed that Cambridge's weather was a bit moody. It had gone down fifty-four degrees last night, but when she woke up this morning it was a pleasant seventy-eight degrees. She'd only been here a little under a week, so she wasn't quite sure if this was an accurate estimation, but Arizona's weather could be fickle too and she was used to it.

It seemed that Cassie shared the sentiment that the outfit was completely garish and unappealing, having already changed into black capris and a casual but tight-fitting Red Sox t-shirt. May couldn't believe how many people wore sports regalia around here. It seemed to be something of a…trend.

Cassie waved her hand in front of May's face and May snapped out of her reverie. "Uh, yeah, burgers sound great. Is it far from here?"

"Nah, just a quick shoot down the subway. Wait, where do you live, anyway? It might be far if you're out in the boonies." May rattled off her address and Cassie smiled appreciatively. "Oh, that's right by where we're going to be…you're not from around here, are you?"

May shook her head slowly.

"You're about a mile from where you want to be. Just east of there is a really good neighborhood, but where you live…" Cassie shook her head and shivered. "So many Aquas over there. It's really dangerous."

"Yeah, that's what Archie said," May told her as she gathered her things. She missed the way that Cassie flinched at the name and by the time she turned back to her, the brunette was looking at her strangely.

"Archie…who?" she asked, a deep frown on her face.

May pondered that for a moment. "Oh, he's just my neighbor. I met him yesterday, so I don't really know much about him."

"What does he look like?" Cassie continued to drill her and May shifted uncomfortably, the other girl's expression way too intense for her liking.

"He's, uh, kind of big I guess. Real muscular…" She paused. "Why, do you know him?"

This seemed to take Cassie by surprise and she hesitated. "Yeah, I know him. The guy's a dick. You should definitely stay away from him."

May raised her eyebrows. First Archie telling her to stay away from what was probably _this very place_ and then one of the workers here telling her to stay away from _him_? This reeked of suspicion, but it probably wasn't wise to say that out loud.

May hummed noncommittally and Cassie didn't seem completely satisfied, but May then said, "So what's this burger place called?"

This seemed to distract her coworker sufficiently. "Chunky Joe's. They're a specialty burger place with all these burgers that are seriously culinary masterpieces. And, of course, there's a build-your-own station for all the cowards out there who are afraid to try something new."

"Good thing I'm not a coward then!" May exclaimed and they both laughed amicably as they left the shop.

They took the subway and as they were getting off, Cassie waved to a group of people all wearing Red Sox shirts that seemed almost identical to Cassie's clothing. They were all guys of varying stature but they had one thing in common: the Red Sox shirts.

As they were approaching, Cassie discreetly whispered to May, "Word to the wise—don't mention anything about Archie to these guys. You'll start a riot."

May was surprised but nodded. Was Archie some kind of major figure in Cambridge, for so many people to dislike him? This was growing more and more suspicious by the minute. Nonetheless, she decided that she would keep to Cassie's advice.

When they finally reached the group, May noticed that she was being regarded with distinctly suspicious looks. She hesitated for a moment, then decided to trust Cassie and joined the group.

"Hey guys, this is May. She's the new hire at the bakery." They all seemed to relax minutely. "Boss interviewed her personally, so be nice."

And just like that, the switch was flipped. They all introduced themselves in turn. Connor was a big guy all around—he was probably just a few inches shorter than Archie, but his physique couldn't have been any more opposite. He was as thin as a toothpick, gangly and a little awkward in his build. His hair was a dusty light blond, cropped short, and he wore glasses.

Then there was Mark, who was the complete opposite of Connor, built like a boxer. He had square jaw and was one hundred percent muscle, but almost obscenely short. He was probably only a couple of inches taller than May—even Cassie was taller than him.

Ricky was a little older than the group with a buzz cut and a thin mustache. He was otherwise average and indistinct, but had a shady feel to him that made May a bit uncomfortable with his presence. Lastly was Mackenzie, who was distinctly feminine. He wore his long dark blonde hair in a high ponytail and wore thick eyeliner, which stood out a little oddly with the masculinity of the Red Sox shirts, but he was probably the most attractive of the group.

After everyone was introduced, they headed off to Chunky Joe's. There was a bit of a wait and it seemed that the restaurant was already booming with business. They, too, had a "Now Hiring" sign and May wondered whether she could have gotten a job here—it was actually closer to home than the bakery.

When she walked inside and saw how harried all the waiters looked, she swiftly decided that she was glad she had been hired at Maxie's. Although the bakery was busy, it wasn't nearly _this _busy.

They settled down at their table and chatted away about anything and everything. It was almost strange how friendly they all were, especially since they had seemed so distrustful at first, but May wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She was glad to find some people that accepted her so readily and were so nice to her, even though they hadn't known her for more than an hour at most. They welcomed her with open arms and May was having a wonderful time.

"So, you met the boss, huh?" Mark asked, just before taking a bite of his triple-patty barbeque burger. "What'd you think?"

May nodded in response and put her own half-eaten burger down before answering. "Well, he seems pretty nice." Ricky choked on his food and May hesitated. "…but I haven't talked to him much since the interview."

"Boss is a good guy," Mark agreed. "Just…has a funny way 'a showin' it."

This earned a laugh from the whole group and Ricky finally finished swallowing his food, chuckling a bit towards the end. May thought for a minute, then inquired thoughtfully, "Do you all work at the bakery, too?"

"Oh, no," Mark replied. "None of us do. We just do the-"

At that moment, Cassie coughed and thumped her chest three times, as if she was choking on something. May looked to her worriedly and missed the looks quickly exchanged between all the members of the table.

"-we just know him. Longtime friend," Mark finished before quickly taking a bite out of his burger to prevent further questioning.

May looked around at them, a little confused. "Then why do you call him 'boss?'"

"It's just kind of a thing," Cassie told her, patting her on the shoulder. "An old habit that just kind of happened. You'll get used to it…I promise. You'll probably end up calling him that soon, anyway."

May was utterly confused but decided that, like Cassie said, she would probably understand soon. Exactly how that was going to happen, she wasn't sure, but apparently, only time would tell.

After that, the group seemed a bit more censored in what they said, but not enough to bother May. The meal went on without a further hitch and soon, they had paid the bill and Cassie was walking her back to the subway.

"If you take the T to the very next stop, you should be right in your area," Cassie directed her. When May looked at her questioningly, Cassie went on, "The T is what they call the subway around here. Anyway, I have to go back to the bakery. I…forgot something."

"Oh, okay. Thanks," May said. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah? I guess Boss is getting you all the work you can before school starts?"

"Uh-huh. He was pretty cool about it. He said I could work mostly full-time until the first week and then we could work out a schedule once I started."

"He probably wants to try you out before giving you a permanent position," Cassie said out loud, but it sounded more like she was talking to herself.

May turned to her quickly, internally panicking. "Wait, my position now isn't permanent?"

Cassie looked at her for a moment, seemed to realize she had spoken her thoughts aloud, and quickly withdrew her statement. "No, no, that's not what I meant! You'll do just fine at the bakery. Boss just has a side project that he's recruiting members for and he probably wants to get to know you and your work ethic before he lets you in on it."

May sagged in relief. "Jesus, don't scare me like that."

The brunette laughed and elbowed her gently. "And don't be so nervous all the time. You gotta chill out, okay? But hey, the T's here. Don't want to miss your stop."

May quickly bid farewell to her new friend and they parted. The ride back to her apartment took less than ten minutes and she was relieved to be at home again.

Archie was outside again, smoking a cigarette, and he waved to her as she walked up to her door. She waved back but didn't stop to chat, noticing vaguely that he was on his phone but all conversation had stopped the moment he noticed her. However, the day was finally catching up to her and May was exhausted, so she was a little glad that he hadn't started a conversation because she didn't have the energy to hold one.

When she open her laptop and got on her email, she found that she had a new group message from someone named "Steven Stone", whose email was clearly on Harvard's database and the email was linked to probably about fifty other recipients. She clicked on it and began to skim the relatively long message.

In the end, it told her that her geology class, an elective she had decided to take because it linked in to her major and because it was her one 'easy' class of the semester, was meeting up a week early. It was apparently because the professor wanted to give the participating students a head start on the semester's main project, which would consist of fifty percent of her final grade. The meet up was optional, of course, because class hadn't officially started, but it was recommended by whoever this Steven Stone person was. Scanning back over the email she noticed that it was mentioned that he was the TA for the class and then it all made sense. May wondered if she would ever actually get an email from the professor himself, but highly doubted it if he had someone to do the grunt work for him.

'A week early' was Monday and the meet up was supposed to be at three. She technically had work that day and she wasn't eager to ask Maxie for a half-day off so early in her time working there, but decided that in the end, school was more important than work and Chunky Joe's _was _still hiring.

Sighing, May RSVP'd to the email to say that she was going and decided she would have to apply at the burger joint tomorrow, just in case Maxie threw a fit and fired her. It was a hard decision to make, but as long as she had a job it didn't really matter where, exactly, she worked.

May was pretty sure that she was woken up in the middle of the night by a fist fight, but by the next morning she wrote it off as just a dream.

* * *

><p><em>Okie doke! So I'm guessing some of you are wondering where Steven is. Don't worry, he shows up next chapter!<em>

_A big thanks to mitzi, Gabby, Almiaranger, Guest, F. Flotsam, lolibelle, Jetraven Ex, and Akatsupure._

_Everyone give a big round of applause to mitzi a.k.a. secretly sociopathic, who gave me crucial information about Boston/Cambridge and is helping me make this story as realistic as possible. You go girl and thank you so much!_

_If I could be any Pokemon in Gen III, I would be Absol. (Awesome taste, Guest!) I mean, "Disaster Pokemon?" How cool is that? And Mega Absol looks like a dark angel type Pokemon. Seriously. If I could be in Mega Absol form all the time (if I was a Pokemon in the first place, of course...) I totally would. They should have just made that form its evolution._

**Question: What is your favorite Pokemon type? (Including Fairy.)**


	4. Chapter 4

_Damn I'm on a roll! Enjoy, everyone!_

_And we finally see Steven! Yay!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four: Bang Bam BOOM!<strong>

* * *

><p>To May's relief, when she asked Maxie to leave an hour and a half early on Monday, he acquiesced easily and without complaint. He more or less told her that she was a student first, employee second, and that he would respect that as long as she kept her priorities straight. That statement seemed to have a double entendre, but May wasn't quite sure what the underlying meaning was or whether she was even supposed to know it at this point. He had looking at her pointedly as he said it and May had just nodded, hoping that her expression didn't display her confusion too blatantly.<p>

It was now Monday, and since she had ordered all her textbooks online while she was still in Littleroot, she was able to bring her geology textbook as well as a composition notebook with her to the meet up in case she needed to take notes. The email had seemed rather casual, but May wanted to be as prepared as possible.

As May walked out of her apartment, she noticed that the box that had been delivered to Archie's apartment two days ago was still there. She hadn't seen him for almost four days at this point, and although she wasn't one to worry needlessly about strangers, she was a little concerned that the box had been going unattended for all this time. It was a small box, so it was possible that it wasn't super important, but May was feeling a bit like a Good Samaritan right then.

First, she knocked on the door to see if he was home, although she was pretty certain that he wasn't if the box was still there. She had didn't have a lot of time before she had to be at the meet up, but she didn't want his box to get stolen when she could have prevented it. After pondering it for a few moments, she pulled out her composition notebook, ripped out a sheet, and scribbled down a quick note onto it.

_Archie-_

_There has been a box outside your door for the past two days and I was worried about it getting stolen, so I took it inside for safekeeping. Just call me when you're back to get it. 454-913-0277_

_-May_

She didn't see anything wrong with him having her number, so she folded up the sheet of paper and slipped it through the small opening for mail at the bottom-center of the door. Then, she tucked the box into her messenger bag and took off, already having wasted too much time on the abandoned package dilemma. May felt rather good about herself as she walked to the bus stop.

As she was getting off, however, she realized just how terribly invasive she had been with someone she didn't even really know all that wel. He could possibly get really pissed off at her, and that was a position she didn't want to be in.

She remembered Kyogre, who apparently attacked people more with her teeth than her tongue. Oh god…

Internally panicking, May glanced at her cell phone to see if there was enough time to get back to her apartment and return the package before Archie possibly got home. She had no idea when that would be, and since he apparently hadn't been home for a while, it was quite possible that he was returning _soon_.

Unfortunately, she didn't have the time and would just have to hope that Archie didn't get home before she did and that Kyogre tore up the note she had left as soon as possible.

May pushed the terrifying thought of Archie's anger—and what he might _do_ when angered—out of her mind and made her way to the Dunkin' Donuts where the class was apparently supposed to meet. She was right on time and as she pushed into the shop, she immediately noticed the group where she was meant to be.

Three tables had been pushed together to create something of a large dinner table and seats were equally spaced all around it. There were probably twelve or fourteen places for people to sit. May was surprised that the donut shop was so spacious, as they usually only did take-away orders in Littleroot. Perhaps it was because of all the college students in Cambridge. As she looked around, she noticed a Free Wi-fi sign pasted to the wall and her question was immediately answered. This must be something of a congregation spot—she had seen the rooftop of one of the college buildings on her way into the shop, so it was definitely close enough to the school.

There were only about five or six other students present and the professor was nowhere in sight. Most of them were the typical college kid stereotype, but there was one guy who stood out to her.

He was taller than her, but certainly not on the level of tall that Connor or Archie were. He had spikey, strangely gray-blue hair—must have dyed it, because it _couldn't_ be natural—and striking eyes that were shockingly similar to his hair. He was lean and wore tight black jeans that seemed to be fitted to suit his legs and a dark blue button-up with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. He was the only one standing and his eyes were watching the door.

Suddenly, his eyes met May and her heart dropped to her stomach.

"Are you here for the geology class?" he asked, and his voice was a soft but deep tenor. May swallowed heavily and nodded.

"Yeah," she replied weakly. This guy…this guy was…

"Oh, good. I'm Steven Stone and I'll be your TA for the semester. Professor Devon won't be coming today because he had something come up, so I'll be getting you all started on your project."

May nodded nervously. "Okay, sounds…good," she said.

Steven smiled and May shifted uncomfortably. He was just so… "Don't be nervous. You're a freshman, right?" May nodded again. "There are a lot of freshman in this class, so you're not alone." His tone was so friendly and kind and oh god…

"Thanks," she said with an uneasy smile before going to sit down. Steven remained standing and went back to watching the door for any newcomers. May quickly buried herself in the introductory chapter of her textbook and tried very hard not to look at the most perfect male specimen she had ever laid eyes upon in her life.

Steven was the West's Adonis. Why he was a TA and not a model, she wasn't sure, but when she glanced at the two other girls present at the table surreptitiously, it was hard to miss the way they seemed to take turns staring at him, as if begging for his attention.

May glared down at her textbook, her brain not digesting any of the words she read. Okay, that was fair. Any hot-blooded woman—or male, depending on their sexuality—would have to be blind not to see how beautiful Steven was. However, that didn't mean she had to demean herself by simpering for his attention. Besides, there _had_ to be a rule against dating teachers—or, in this case, teacher's assistants, especially if the two participants were attending and teaching, respectively, the same class. So Steven was eye-candy and nothing else.

She couldn't help but glance at him longingly—his back, of course, because she had too much pride to let a stranger see her look at them that way—and then steeled her resolve. He was gorgeous in a way she had never seen before, but she wasn't going to jeopardize her enrollment to an Ivy League school just because she was infatuated with this guy at first sight. It just wasn't happening.

After another five minutes and no one else showed up, Steven sighed and turned to the table. "So, it looks like everyone who wanted to come is here," he announced. May noticed that while before his voice had been polite and friendly, it now took on a more authoritative tone when he was addressing them as students and not equals. "As you all know, my name is Steven Stone and I'll be your TA for the semester.

"I wasn't going to do this before, but since there are so few of you, let's go around and introduce ourselves," Steven went on. "We'll start with you."

Suddenly, all eyes were on May. She cursed for being the only one sitting on the left. She flushed and quickly blurted out, "I'm May Andrews."

The guy next in line spoke up shyly. "I-I'm W-Wally Harris," he stammered. May looked at him a little more closely. He had light green hair and even when choosing an exuberant hair color, it was like he couldn't really go too bright. Along with that, his skin was pale, almost in a sickly way. He was dressed down in an oversized gray sweatshirt and baggy jeans that made him seem a lot thinner than he probably was.

On that thought, why did everyone seem to dye their hair? Steven, Wally, and she suspected that Maxie did too. His hair was just _too _red. It was odd because her boss was so stern and composed that it didn't really seem like something he would do, but then again he had his employees wear incredibly strange all-red uniforms, so maybe she wasn't looking at him from the right perspective…

By the time May started paying attention again, the last girl was introducing herself as Lucy Bennett. She was one of the girls who had been checking out Steven and seemed to be at least friends with the girl seated next to her, whose introduction had been missed by May zoning out.

"Thank you, everyone." Steven smiled and Lucy and her friend seemed to swoon just a bit. May tried to keep herself a least a little more composed than them, but she wasn't quite sure she succeeded. No one was paying her any attention, though, so if she had embarrassed herself, at least no one had witnessed it.

May felt eyes on her and found Wally watching her with a blush on his face. He quickly averted his gaze, however, and she decided to ignore it. Wally seemed a little too childish for her—how could he seriously be her age?

Steven went on to tell them about the semester-long project that would have a huge impact on their final grade for the class. Apparently they had to research, and preferably obtain, a rock or gemstone and then do a series of tests throughout the class—he explained that they would learn more about the tests and how to do them as the semester progressed—and then do a presentation on it, including a research paper, results of their tests, and so on.

"…and so, you'll be graded on a holistic-"

Suddenly, there was a loud vibration from May's pocket and she internally cursed as she fished out her phone to turn it off. Steven paused and yet again, all the attention was on her.

However, May was now panicking. It was a number she didn't recognize, but it was definitely a Boston area code and since nobody else here had her number except for Archie… "I'm really sorry," she said, her cheeks red as a tomato. She was going to have to reject the call, as much as it killed her. Oh, he was going to be _so _pissed! "I'll just turn it-"

"Don't worry, May," Steven said kindly. "This isn't actually class, so if it's important, you can go take it. We're almost done here, anyway."

May slumped in relief before quickly swiping open her phone to answer the call and practically bolting out of her seat.

"Hello?" she said a little breathlessly as she when into a corner of the shop for a little more privacy.

"May, it's Archie," came his deep voice. It sounded even more baritone over the phone, which should have been impossible—but that was probably because he was clearly pissed off as hell. "Why the fuck did you take that box?" he demanded.

May felt guilt wash over her and it was almost enough to bring tears to her eyes. "I just didn't want it to get-"

"Stolen, yeah," he snapped. "Listen. How long ago did you take it? This is really important."

Now she was a little confused, but she responded meekly, "I don't know, a-about forty five minutes ago?"

"_Shit_," he cursed savagely. "Do you have any spare keys? I need that box _right now_."

"Oh, uh," May was practically hopping from one foot to the other in her anxiousness. "I took it with me because I was running late. I'm only fifteen minutes away, I can totally-"

"_Motherfucker!_" May felt tears prick her eyes and she looked over at the table, where the students were now dispersing.

"I-I'm so s-sorry!" she blubbered. "I just wanted to-"

"Where are you?" Archie's voice was sharp, ignoring her apology without a thought.

"A-at the Dunkin' Donuts on-on-" May bolted out of the shop and looked for a street sign. There is was—she was on Cambridge near Quincy Street. She repeated this to Archie.

"Oh, fuck, you're in a public place, too?" Archie growled a few more choice words and May wasn't sure whether she was more confused or terrified at this point. "Start walking to Dawes Island Park. _Do not _get on the bus and stay as far as fucking possible from other people. You started this shit, so I can't help you any more than meeting up with you as soon as possible."

"O-okay," she whimpered, guilt overtaking her again.

"And get the fuck out of that place. Run, if you have to, but I need you to be at Dawes Island Park in ten minutes."

"Where is-"

"Take a left and go straight down Cambridge," he barked "Go. Now. I'll meet you by the restrooms."

May was about to ask where those would be, but Archie had hung up. Only Steven was still at Dunkin' Donuts and he was watching her with concern.

She turned to him and immediately noticed this. She was teary-eyed, red with embarrassment and guilt, and absolutely miserable. Of course this would be her first actual one-on-one conversation with him.

"Are you okay?" he asked as she swiftly approached the table to grab her bag, which held that damned box.

"I'll be okay," she replied weakly, hurriedly slinging the bag over her shoulder and grabbing her purse. She turned to him as she was turning to leave. "How long would it take to get to Dawes Island Park from here?"

"Walking?"

"Yeah." May couldn't stop herself from inching towards the door. The clock was ticking…for whatever reason.

"No more than ten minutes, even if you're going at a sedate pace. Why? Is everything okay, May?"

May nodded. "Oh, I hope so," she replied over her shoulder as she shot out of the door and began to book it to the park.

When she arrived at the nearest building that had restrooms, May suddenly realized that this was a very odd place to meet up just to pick up a package. Unless he was going to beat her to death and he just wanted to have an easy place to hide the body…she could always fight back, though…

Oh, god, her self-defense classes wouldn't stand a chance against him!

Archie called her again two minutes later. "Where are you?" he demanded.

At his harsh tone, May's eyes teared up again and one spilled over. Trying to disguise how terrified she was, she cleared her throat and said, "I-I'm by the restrooms…uh, there's a blue bike rack to my left…can't see the street…"

"Found ya," he said into the phone before promptly hanging up. She turned around and saw Archie walking up to her briskly. May had to stop herself from running in the opposite direction.

"Box," he commanded and May quickly fished it out of her bag, handing it to him with shaking hands. He immediately tore it open and revealed a small but bulky black box that was blinking frantically with a number counting down on the front—it read 00:00:08 and was counting down by the second. There was a bright red card—the very same color of her uniform, she realized vaguely—and it read, _"Happy Birthday!"_

May stared at it in great confusion. What…was it? This was the strangest birthday gift, because it looked like a-

Suddenly, it began to beep as the timer hit one second. "Shit, shit, shit!" Archie chucked the box as far as he could away from the restrooms and into the brush. May shrieked when he tackled her to the ground, covering her with his body, and then-

_BOOM!_

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><p><em>Yes, people, that is what we call a cliffhanger. A good cliffhanger? Hell no. But a cliffhanger nonetheless.<em>

_Review time! A huge thank you to: F. Flotsam, loli-belle, Almiaranger, 1939Sorry-Not-Sorry1945, JetravenEx, Akatsupure, TrueLightHikari, Hunter the Weavile, Guest1267, StubblePrince, mupp3tbab3h, DragonkynNatKiasu, and Guest for reviewing! Now, for responses..._

_First of all, an EVEN BIGGER thank you to mupp3tbab3h, who took the time to review every single chapter up until this point. You are AWESOME! In that same vein, I want to give lots of love to everyone who has been here since the story started, oh, what, a week ago? LOL That would be (to the best of my knowledge) Akatsupure, JetravenEx, and F. Flotsam! (There might be/probably is more, but between Guest reviews and actual users, I'm quite lost! So if you've been here the whole time and I didn't mention you, my greatest apologies and make sure I know in a review so I can include you next time!) You all ROCK MY SOCKS!_

_Loli-belle, I'm glad my writing could cheer you up! That's the kind of stuff I like to hear - I write to make people happy!_

_DragonkynNatKiasu - My first starter was Cyndaquil. Love that little guy. And my favorite starter of all time is very cliche. Charmander. I'm a sucker for all Gen I pokemon. I've played every game all the way through except for Gen IV and Gen V, but I've still made damn good progress in those games, too. I STILL like Charmander the best. :D Lame, right? LOL_

_**Review responses everyone should read:**_

_mupp3tbab3h - You're the first person to notice the Red Sox Magma uniforms! Congrats!_

_ Since this isn't really a spoiler, yes, the Red Sox jerseys we saw on everybody last chapter is something of the official 'uniform' for Team Magma in this fic. ;)_

_Thank you for the question by JetravenEx about Kyogre. Kyogre is a female blue/grey pitbull who is huge. Like 100 lbs. She weighs almost as much as May does...So yeah. That was a rough landing for poor May, lol. She is NOT blue like Kyogre the Pokemon - just looks like a legitimate dog you would find in our world, but her grey fur has a blue-ish tint to it. Sorry if I confused anyone!_

_For the question today, we're going to recycle DragonkynNatKiasu's question to me. :) (By the way, ask me any questions you like! I'll respond!)_

_My favorite type of Pokemon is Dragon all the way. It's a really tough choice, but since the beginning of my Pokemon playing career, there has always been an Dragon-type on my team, even if it means hours of grinding just to get them to the same level as the rest of my team. Like how you get a Lv. 10 (or something) Dratini after the Clair in Crystal? Yeah, I got her all the way up to Dragonite before challenging the Elite Four..._

**Question: What was your first starter pokemon and which is your favorite starter of all time, Gen I - Gen VI?**

_Don't forget to review!_


	5. Chapter 5

_NEWS THAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW:_

_So, it's become clear to me that everyone thinks this is Steven/May, and yes, it was initially planned to be that way. However, I've realized I'm having way too damn fun of a time writing Archie for him to be just a side character. From this moment on, this story is Steven/May/Archie and no, I won't be revealing who the final pairing will be, if there will be a 'final' pairing at all. This was originally just a fuck-off fic that I was writing that doesn't have any real plot or direction, just a chronicle of May's college experience. I'm not taking a vote between Steven and Archie because I'm about 110% positive that it will be overwhelmingly in support of Steven._

_I encourage you to give Archie a chance. Steven is unbelievably hot and amazing, but Archie has some pretty lovable qualities too, ya know? All I'm saying is don't start hating Archie because he's a possible love interest. For all you all know, May's going to get a shot with both of them and THEN we'll have a vote as to the final pairing. (That's just an idea, I don't know if it's actually going to happen, so don't hold me to it!)_

**_This is NOT your typical one-pairing romance._**

_Again, this is about May's experience at college, first and foremost, and the romance is just the icing on the cake. So don't get your panties in a twist! ;) Trust me, there's room for both Archie AND Steven. _Trust me.

_And now, on with the show!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Five: Cops and Prostitutes<strong>

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><p>May screamed at the sound of an explosion in her vicinity and a wave of heat washed over her. She heard fire crackling and then Archie was on his feet and dragging her up.<p>

"RUN!" he shouted, and in her terror, May complied without a second thought. Archie was faster than her, with much longer legs, and noticed she was falling behind rapidly. He stopped and she almost collided into him, but then he swooped her up and continued running.

May wasn't sure how long they ran, but they had disappeared into the woods for a while and were now reappearing near the bridge she had passed to get here.

Archie set her down and was panting heavily. May was, too, although for entirely different reasons because she hadn't been the one carrying someone.

"Stupid shithead must've set it for one hour instead of one minute," Archie muttered as he caught his breath. May stared at him dumbly, the events of the past fifteen minutes starting to catch up to her.

"Someone was trying to kill you!" she shrieked. Involuntarily, her eyes drifted to the smoke drifting up from where the bomb had gone off. Then his words processed. "Wait, one minute?" she screeched. "It was supposed to be _one minute?_ That would have killed _me!_"

Archie looked at her for a long moment and then started to laugh. "Oh, shit," he gasped, caught up in hysterics. "You're such a fucking idiot. Oh shit, _hahahahahaha!_"

May was drunk on adrenaline and fury was pulsing through her, although she wasn't certain as to who she was actually pissed off at. "_I'm_ the idiot? You're the one who someone's trying to kill! You have to be pretty stupid to get in that kind of situation!"

Archie was laughing harder now, apparently finding what she said funny, and May could only seethe. She began to pace back and forth, itching to aim a well-placed kick at Archie, but when she realized that he had pretty much saved her and a bunch of other people's lives, she refrained from doing so. She was still _really_ angry.

Finally, Archie calmed down. "This is why you don't do nice shit for people you don't know. I really appreciate the sentiment, babe, but that could have really fucked some shit up."

Somewhere deep down, May was relieved that he didn't sound pissed off at all anymore. She was in such a whirlwind of emotions that she didn't even mind him calling her 'babe.'

"Yeah, well consider it a lesson learned," she snapped, but it didn't have as much heart in it as it should have.

Suddenly, sirens were blaring in the distance and Archie was immediately serious again. "We'll want to go the long way back. We can't take the bus, though…"

May then took a minute to inspect herself and Archie. They were partially covered in soot—Archie more so than her—sweaty, and dirty. It was clear that they had been in the vicinity of the bomb and given that they had high-tailed it out of there, they looked particularly guilty.

She felt a little dizzy now that the shock was wearing off. "I don't feel so good," she whispered to herself, then turned around and vomited up everything she had eaten for lunch. She continued to vomit and she vaguely noticed Archie holding back her hair as she emptied her stomach onto the ground.

When she was done, she wiped her mouth and stood shakily. Archie steadied her and suddenly she was leaning into him heavily.

"Ugh. I never want to do this again," she muttered into his side. He supported her weight easily.

Archie snorted. "Probably a good idea," he replied. Once she had gotten her footing straight, Archie stepped away and pulled out his cellphone.

May suddenly realized that while her messenger back was still with her—however unlikely that may be—it was singed and she wasn't too sure about the state of its contents. She decided it was something she would deal with later.

Archie was barking out orders to someone over the phone for a few moments before he hung up. He turned to her and told her, "Shelly's coming to pick us up. She'll be here in a hot minute."

May nodded. "Okay, so, when are you going to tell me why someone's trying to kill you? Shouldn't you be going to be police with this?"

"Ain't like that, babe," he said, scratching his chin and staring up into the sky, which had begun to cloud over. The temperature was rapidly dropping and May shivered when a harsh wind gusted past them. "The less you know, the better."

May decided that she agreed with that statement. "Okay…" She went on to her next question. "If it was supposed to go off in a minute, and they messed it up and it became an hour, that still doesn't explain why it sat on your doorstep for like two whole days. Why did it only go off when I picked it up?"

"Motion sensor," Archie replied easily. "If the dumbshit woulda done it right, you'd be very, very dead right now."

"So wait…you were home this entire time?" she asked. "And you knew what it was, so why didn't you do anything with it?" Her voice was raising in volume as she spoke until she was practically screaming.

"Shut up," he hissed. "This place is buzzing with cops now. Until Shelly gets here, we gotta be fucking _invisible,_ do you hear me?" As if to follow up on that thought, he dragged her into the nearest copse of trees, still facing the street, which was about a thousand feet from where they were.

"You haven't answered my question," she whispered once they were out of sight.

"I didn't know what it was, no," Archie replied at length. "But any unmarked packages are usually bad news, so I left it there. I had an idea of what it was 'cause there was the possibility that some information had been leaked, so I was having a guy come over to take a look at it. Turns out I was right."

"Why didn't you call me right away?" she asked a little testily.

"Cause I was fuckin' asleep," Archie snapped, sounding annoyed at the accusation in her voice.

May huffed but nodded, accepting it for what it was. "But then how did you know to have me meet you at the park? How did you even know I was alive? How did you-"

"It was dumb fucking luck, okay? Quit it with the questions, will you? The less you know, the better. Seriously."

May nodded, her curiosity sated for the moment. However, she vowed that she and Archie were going to have a long discussion at some point. She had his number and he had hers, so one way or the other, she was going to get her answers.

She wasn't supposed to know it, sure, but short of him telling her, "It's classified" and going all 'FBI secret agent' on her, she _was_ going to get the bigger picture about her next door neighbor.

Although, with the way he was talking, it seemed like the secret agent idea was very possible in this situation.

Archie's phone vibrated and he pulled it out, flipping it open to read what was apparently a text. "Okay, Shelly's here. We walk slowly and casually, okay? Look like you're having fun or something."

May nodded and began to walk next to him towards the road. A navy blue sedan was parked there and its four-ways were on, so May naturally assumed that this was their ride. When they approached, Archie was somehow gentlemanly enough to open the back door for her before climbing into the passenger seat.

Then again, she was starting to realize that she really didn't know all that much about the man who had unintentionally endangered her life and then very intentionally saved it—she could now clearly recall how he had covered her with his body—all in one fell swoop. Mixed in somewhere with her anger, a bud of affection bloomed. It was actually rather valiant, what he had done, despite the unorthodox way he had handled the situation and his cutting and vulgar language throughout the ordeal.

"Hey, hun," the woman in the driver's seat, apparently Shelly, said to Archie. "You getting into trouble again?"

Archie gave Shelly a pointed look and then she glanced back at May before an expression of understanding crossed her face.

"Not me," he said after the exchange. "Her." He thumbed at May.

"What'd you do, sweetheart?" Shelly asked her as she switched gears into drive and pulled out into traffic. "Looks like you blew something up."

"No," May replied, leaning back into the leather seat in relief. The car was incredibly comfortable and after the horrendous events of the last hour, she was ready to fall asleep for a month. She probably would have been asleep that very moment if her perception of Archie hadn't just completely done a one-eighty. "Something blew _us_ up."

"Sometimes that's how it is," Shelly said with a laugh. "Where to?" she then asked Archie. "Your place, or…?"

"Starbucks first," Archie said. "Then home."

"She going with you?" Shelly sounded intrigued.

"We're neighbors," May interjected tiredly. While she was totally exhausted, she wasn't so out of it that she was okay with being talked about like she wasn't present.

Shelly shrugged. "Alright. Starbucks, then home."

The ride from then on was silent. Shelly had turned on the radio and it was playing some hit pop song. Shelly was humming along to it softly and this directed May's attention to her, which was a welcome change from the sudden feelings of a sort of admiration for Archie blooming in her chest.

Shelly had very tan skin and gorgeous wavy black hair that probably reached her waist—May couldn't tell because it was up in a ponytail. She could, however, see the few streaks of dark blue that went through it, specifically her bangs. Shelly had icy blue eyes, which contrasted nicely with her darker coloring, and May was suddenly left wondering what was up with Cambridge and all the gorgeous people here. Steven, Shelly, even Archie, although he had a different kind of appeal than the two former. Maxie was handsome, too, but he was so stone-faced and cold that May couldn't actively find him attractive. She was only able to acknowledge that some people might find him so.

Still, so many amazingly attractive people seemed to be congregated here…May wondered if she was going to be able to find time for a boyfriend between work and school. Preferably one that wasn't her TA or couldn't break her in half if he held her the wrong way.

They stopped at a Starbucks that May recognized was just around the corner from the apartment complex she and Archie shared. Shelly didn't order anything, but Archie ordered a black coffee with a double shot of espresso before turning to her.

"What do you want?" he asked.

May looked at him in surprise, silently questioning him, but he just made an impatient nodding motion with his head and his piercing blue eyes prodded her to answer.

"Uh, I guess a strawberries and cream frappuccino," she said after a moment. Shelly relayed that to the cashier.

May suddenly realized that because she hadn't been planning to spend money—or rather, _couldn't_ because she didn't have the money to spare—she had left her wallet at home. She told Archie this just as he was pulling out his wallet.

"What, you thought I was going to let you pay after all that shit we just went through?" was all he said.

May didn't really have an argument for that and she was actually very touched by the sentiment. Archie's gruff but almost kind behavior wasn't really helping the sudden blooming of emotion she was having for him. She had come to realize that she owed Archie a significant debt—basically, whatever her life could be considered worth. At the same time, she didn't get the feeling that Archie would abuse the new bond that had been formed when he had courageously covered her body with his to protect her from the blast.

"Thank you," she said as sincerely and gratefully as she could. It was the least she could do after he had done so much for her. A thought then occurred to her. Could his harsh words and sharp anger have been out of…concern? No, that seemed a little too out there. They didn't know each other well enough for that to be the case…right?

Archie just shrugged and passed his money to Shelly, who then gave it to the cashier.

May was starting to feel a bit better with the creamy fruit drink sliding down her parched throat and her mood was steadily improving. Archie was now talking quietly with Shelly, but May didn't pay it any attention, too engrossed in her thoughts about her savior and the day's events. They were in front of the apartment complex less than five minutes later.

"Call me, hun!" Shelly called out to Archie once he and May had exited the car. She pulled away quickly afterward and sped jerkily down the street. May suddenly realized that Shelly had probably been actively censoring her driving when they were in the car.

"Who was that?" May asked as they walked back to their building. They took the back way to avoid being seen in their post-explosion state and, luckily, did not encounter anyone.

"That's Shelly Adams. Long-time friend and one hell of a call girl," Archie said casually, taking another sip from his coffee.

May spluttered. "Wait-_what?_"

Archie looked at her with an amused expression. "What, got a problem with pros?"

"I don't-no!" she protested. "I have nothing against, you know, prostitutes, I've just never met one before and I thought…"

"Shelly's not your average pro. She's expensive, if you know what I mean. Has a choice in her johns, lives the high life, all that. Probably because she doesn't have a drug habit to kick and is gorgeous as all hell."

May nodded and they arrived at their respective apartments. She turned to him and wasn't quite sure what to say. 'Thanks for saving my life, let's try not to get blown up again' didn't quite sound like the right thing to say, and she didn't know if it would really be appropriate to attack him with a hug to show the fierceness of her appreciation for him. That left her options rather limited.

"You gonna be okay?" Archie asked. He sounded genuinely concerned, if not a little gruff about it.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," May replied, laughing weakly. She was starting to understand him a bit, she thought to herself. "But…don't you think we should, you know, report the bomb or something?"

"Don't worry about it," Archie said. May looked skeptical and he returned the look. "What are you gonna say? 'I, for all intents and purposes, stole my next door neighbor's package, it turned out to be a ticking bomb, and then I let it explode on federal property?'"

May protested rather violently at that. "I didn't steal it!"

"Taking someone else's mail intentionally is a felony," Archie told her, smirking at her when she blanched.

"Okay, yeah. So, probably don't want to go to the police," May agreed. "But don't you think there will be an investigation?"

"Hell yeah, there will be! That's why you don't go back to Dawes Island Park for the next year and lay low for a good long time. You got a criminal record?" May shook her head, her heartbeat starting to speed up. If they found out in _any way_ that she was connected to the explosion, her school career—no, _life_—was going down the drain. "Then you're good."

May sighed in relief. "Alright. Well, good night. And…thanks. For everything." She didn't feel like those few words really conveyed her emotions properly, but she had nothing else she could offer him.

Archie just laughed. "You're welcome. Just don't go around picking up shit that isn't yours anymore, okay?"

She could only roll her eyes good-naturedly and they parted. After disposing of her empty cup, May collapsed on her bed and relished the softness of her bed. She was not going to think about the day anymore, especially not Archie. The way he had looked at her just before she walked in her front door had sent her stomach into knots. She couldn't identify the emotion in his eyes nor the one that the look had caused, but she suddenly had the strangest feeling that she was on a crash-course down to hell.

May sighed and closed her eyes, deciding to ignore the feeling of foreboding. Archie, she decided, was probably on about the same level of untouchable as Steven, especially if he hung out with women like Shelly. Still, she had had immediate infatuation with her TA and now there was a budding of affection for Archie. She was pretty sure both were equally bad choices as far as crushes went for distinctly different but nonetheless valid reasons. Steven was her TA and Archie was probably a secret FBI agent—and that was just the beginning.

As she continued to compare the two totally opposite men in her mind, May made the decision that she just didn't care.

No more fucks were given that night.

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><p><em>Now, review time!<em>

_Thank you to: Darling Grimm, katzeko, LeprechaunGreen, EnigmaUniverse, becksterRES, DragonkynNatKiasu, vaKEra, 1939Sorry-Not-Sorry1945, Guest, mupp3tbab3h, JetravenEx, Akatsupure, F. Flotsam, Hunter the Weavile, CelestialOwl, loli-belle, L van Am, and TrebleKnight. It's nice to see so many new usernames and you guys are GREAT!_

_Thank you, Darling Grimm! I hope that you continue to find my story enjoyable. :)_

_LeprechaunGreen, you're awesome for going back through all the questions and answering them!_

_EnigmaUniverse, I hope your lurking days are over and you'll stand here in the light with the rest of us! It was nice to hear from you and thank you so much for the compliments._

_DragonkynNatKiasu - never be afraid to write long reviews! I love them! As for your question(s), I've never really tried Coffee Bean, so I guess I'll have to go with Starbucks. But I can't drink coffee (I think I'm allergic) so I don't really go to either all that often. The only gender preference I have is female Feebas/Milotic, but it's ridiculously trying to catch more than one Feebas, so I usually give up once I finally catch ONE. I don't know if they changed that in ORAS. I also prefer female starters and fossils, just because you can breed them and with Wonder Trade, I like sending hard-to-get Pokemon so that I'm not the chick sending off an Oddish or a Wingull for ridiculously rare Pokemon. As for Eevee evolution? Damn, that's a hard one...I love all of them, but I'd probably have to say Umbreon or Leafeon. DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE! I BEG OF YOU!_

_Guest - This story is meant to be in May's perspective, but I hate first-person, so no, probably no Steven POV. Sorry! :(_

_Jetraven Ex, I would absolutely NEVER take another person's mail without their explicit pre-authorization. It actually IS a felony!_

_CelestialOwl - I hope you don't abandon the story because of the added love-triangle. Just give poor Archie a chance! D:_

_That's all, folks. Feel free to ask questions - I'll be here to answer them!_

**Question: If you had to date either Maxie or Archie, who would you choose?**

**BONUS QUESTION: Should Maxie get in on our little love-triangle and make it a square? ;D**

_Reviews are love!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey everyone!_

_This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but I hope it makes up for that by being completely Steven-based! The May/Steven is going to be a little slow because most of their interaction happens at school, where Steven is working...I won't explain that too much. Just read the chapter!_

_Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Six: First Day<strong>

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><p>Harvard University was a beautiful school on a beautiful campus, May realized when she approached the school on her first day of class. For all intents and purposes, her nerves should have prevented her from being able to appreciate her gorgeous surroundings. However, May somehow found a way to take in the beauty of the school while also fretting about College Algebra, her first class of the day and of the semester.<p>

After that she had Geology, which she couldn't lie to herself about and say that she wasn't looking forward to it mainly because she would get to see Steven again. Then, on Tuesday, she would have English Composition I, Biology in the lecture hall, and then the second part of Biology in the lab right afterwards. She was good at science and English, so Tuesdays were going to be fun days for her, while math was one of her weaker suits. She had scheduled math with geology for a reason—it would make Mondays and Wednesdays a good deal less mind-numbing.

She found her way to her first class well enough and while the size of the class shouldn't have shocked her, it absolutely did. She was one of maybe one hundred students and immediately she felt her heart begin to race. Still, she tried to find a good seat near the front so that she could take her notes, preferably away from too many other people. May wanted friends in her new state of residence, but she didn't believe that her weakest class was the place to find them. She was going to have to focus all of her attention on learning in this class and nothing else.

Right on time, the professor walked into the room and introduced himself as Professor Childes. To May's relief, for the most part of the first class they simply went over the syllabus, but her luck didn't last; he assigned thirteen pages of reading and twenty questions that needed to be answered and submitted the next class period. She could help but sigh a little to herself dismally. Harvard was an Ivy League school; of _course_ there would be homework on the first day.

After class was dismissed, May found herself wandering over to the cafeteria. The food there was supposed to be priced for student consumption—in other words, it was apparently very cheap, at least according to the guys who had been talking two seats away from her after class had been let out.

She had had the unfortunate necessity to buy a new messenger bag because the singed one would be suspicious after the explosion in Dawes Island Park and she had to keep herself as removed from that situation as possible. She had made sure the messenger bag was bulky and strong enough to hold her textbooks and notes all at once, which she was starting to think her other would not have been capable of. Still, it was a cute pink bag that rested comfortably on her hip as she walked.

The cafeteria took a little bit of work to find and when she finally arrived, it was very crowded—probably because it was about lunchtime. May wandered over to the line for food, which was rather long, and distractedly read the menu posted above her head.

"May!" came a vaguely familiar voice. Startled, she turned away from the menu and whirled around.

Oh god. It was Steven and he was approaching her rapidly.

Her cheeks immediately flamed red and she waved at him, trying to contain her nervousness. He had a concerned look on his face, which led her to wonder what was going on. It was a little exciting that he was approaching her of his own free will, but for what reason, she wasn't sure.

"Did you hear about what happened at Dawes Island Park?" he asked once he had come up to her in line. "You didn't get hurt or anything, did you?"

For a long, full moment, May drew a blank. She remembered that she had asked Steven about how long it would take her to get to Dawes Island Park. She ran there as fast as she could and met Archie. Not much longer afterwards, the explosion had happened.

Steven knew she had been at the park and he was aware that she had been upset and in a hurry before she left.

_Did he know_?

It was then that May realized she had been silent for too long. "Oh, I'm fine," she replied as casually as she could. There was a slightly nervous edge to her tone that she hoped Steven didn't hear. "I heard about it, but I was in a completely different area of the park, so I only saw the fire in the distance."

Steven nodded slowly. "I'm glad," he said, sounding very relieved. May could only smile at him and wish she wasn't stuck lying to someone she wished she could be closer with. "Have you ever eaten in the cafeteria before?" he asked suddenly.

May shook her head, a little surprised. She had thought that he was there just to check up on her, but now it appeared he wanted to make small talk—_not_ that she was complaining or anything. "Nope," she replied with a smile. "This is my first day and I didn't come here before class started, so…"

"Never, _ever_ try any of the Delites," Steven warned her, a smile tugging at his lips. "They have a different one for every day of the week and trust me, you don't want to eat that stuff. I've been going to Harvard for seven years now and I still can't figure out what they put in there. It's not worth the risk."

May laughed at his faux-solemn tone. "They didn't sound all that appetizing anyways," she assured him. "I was actually thinking about going for the Swiss cheese and mushroom burger."

Steven's eyes light up and he smiled genuinely. "That's my favorite. You're a girl after my own heart," he said. May blushed so strongly that she was surprised her head didn't explode from the rush of blood to her cheeks.

"Y-yeah," she stammered, trying to laugh off her embarrassment. "S-so, are you here to get food?"

Steven nodded. "I was going to check up on you in class, but since I found you here, I figured I could knock out two birds with one stone." He grinned and followed May forward as the line moved up. "How was your first class?"

"Oh," May said, rolling her eyes a little, "It was College Algebra. If math wasn't so crucial to my major, I would never take another math class in my life."

Steven laughed. "I hate math, too, but unfortunately, geology requires a lot of it as well. What's your major?"

"Marine biology," May replied. She could feel the heat from her cheeks receding as she got more comfortable with Steven's presence. "My specific concern is the pollution of the ocean, so my minor is going to be in environmental sciences. Of course, working with sea creatures is definitely something I'm looking forward to, too."

The conversation continued on in that way, with Steven asking May questions about her schooling and May answering, but eventually she grew confident enough in the conversation to ask him some questions of her own. Apparently, Steven was a grad student currently, studying to get a Ph.D. in geology and working part-time as a teacher's assistant to help pay for his schooling. Apparently, his father owned a large up-and-coming technology company that was spreading quickly throughout the United States, but Steven was determined not to leech off his father's company and wanted to make his own way in life.

"My dad really wanted me to follow in his footsteps and work at the company, but my interest has always been with the earth and rocks, so I had to decline," he was telling her after they had picked up their food and were heading to go sit down. May was surprised and not just a little excited that he was paying so much attention to her, going as far as to sit down and eat lunch with her.

May nodded. "My dad wanted me to go into business like him, but that was never something I wanted to do. You know, he traveled so much when I was younger that I really never got to see him and it was kind of like having only one parent." When Steven's eyes softened in sympathy, she just shrugged. "It's no big deal. He was always home for holidays and every summer he would take us on a month-long trip to wherever my mom and I wanted to go, so he totally made up for it in the long run. I'm rather well-traveled, and since I always wanted to go to the beach, I've got some pretty good experience with living near the ocean."

They sat down and began to eat their burgers, which were both Swiss cheese and mushroom. The conversation was steady and without pause and May was thoroughly enjoying getting to know Steven. A slightly vindictive part of her thought about what Lucy Bennett and her friend would think of her getting to know Steven one-on-one like this, but then she let that thought dissipate because it wasn't like she was in high school anymore.

Suddenly, while Steven was mid-sentence, his phone started to vibrate. He gave her an apologetic smile and picked it up to answer the text that had just come through.

"I'm so sorry, May, but Professor Devon has an emergency he needs me to come handle."

May nodded, not feeling disappointed in the least. This was more than she ever could have hoped for. "No worries," she said with a smile. "Work comes first, right?"

Steven grinned, seeming thankful that she was so understanding. "Well, I'll see you in class, alright? You have the 2:30pm period?"

"Yup," she replied. "I'll see you then."

Steven waved and took his tray to the trash can before all but running off in the direction of the science department. May sat over her half-eaten burger with what she hoped wasn't too dreamy of a smile on her face. She was just so lucky, wasn't she, getting to talk to Steven for what amounted to about an hour and then getting to see Archie so frequently.

On that thought, she pulled out her phone and considered texting him. They had texted a few times and in the middle of math class, he had sent her a sarcastic text about hoping her first day of school wasn't _too _shitty in that special, supportive-but-'unconcerned' way that only Archie could pull off. It had made her giggle softly before slipping her phone back into her pocket. It seemed only fair that she texted him back, so she quickly typed a message into her phone.

To: Archie

From: May

Message Body: It's bearable. Math class sucked, but I think I made a new friend out of my TA. :) My next class starts soon, though, so I'll ttyl.

She didn't expect Archie to reply any time soon because she had started to notice that he usually slept during the afternoons. She was a bit envious of him in that regard.

May frowned at the thought of sleep. She wouldn't be able to go home and just crash after her first day of class, unfortunately. Maxie had called her in for a meeting at eight o'clock that night and she was a little frustrated and more than a bit confused at the request, but perhaps it had to do with her schedule now that school had started. Still, she wasn't sure why he couldn't do the meeting during regular work hours.

She decided to start in on her math homework since she had a bit of free time, but by the time she had finished reading the first chapter, she was almost late for geology.

May was looking forward to seeing Steven again, although she told herself not to expect him to pay her any extra attention in class. While he was teaching he was at work and she wouldn't expect anything different from him.

With a small smile on her face, May started off to her next class.

_So, I'm a little surprised and 100% excited to say that overall, Maxie becoming part of the love-triangle-soon-to-be-square received overwhelming support. So that's great! We'll be seeing more of Maxie next chapter - which was going to happen anyway, but this adds a twist to the interaction I hadn't previously planned for. Good thing the chapter isn't written yet!_

**_READ THIS NEXT NOTE:_**

_I have NOT played Omega Ruby yet, nor did I ever play Ruby before the revamp. Unfortunately, that means that I have little to no idea what characterizes Maxie beyond what little I have inferred from Alpha Sapphire/Sapphire. Which means I'll have to do a little research (meaning, play Omega Ruby!) I'm certainly not complaining, but it means I have to at least get to the first Maxie/player interaction before I can get a decent idea of how he speaks, his motivations, his personality, etc. Some of you have said I'm doing an overall great job with keeping characters realistic, and THANK YOU SO MUCH, but if we're going to be seeing tons of Maxie and in a romantic light, I need a lot more information._

_The more information I get, the better Maxie will turn out, since I'm obviously not going to play the whole game through just to write Maxie. (I'm too excited for this story to do that!) SO..._

**_IF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH OMEGA RUBY/RUBY AND ARE A MAXIE FAN, PLEASE LEAVE A LITTLE TIDBIT ON HIS CHARACTER IN A REVIEW!_**

_Anybody who does this will be helping the story in ways that I cannot even describe! Please, I beg of you!_

_Now, for responses:_

_A round applause to: j2jackson321, terracannon876, mupp3tbab3h, Felicity Dream, JetravenEx, LeprechaunGreen, TrebleKnight, CelestialOwl, Okeanos-heart, statickandy, Guest1, Guest2, Mononokehime503, DragonkynNatKiasu, EnigmaUniverse, Akatsupure, Almiaranger, Hunter the Weavile, , katzeko, F. Flotsam, becksterRES, L van Am, StubblePrince, Anti-Ivory, loli-belle, and 0Shadow Panther0. Special big thanks to those who gave nice, long reviews! You guys are awesome!_

_Felicity Dream - GIOVANNI FTW! Haha He's always been special to me, the first big bad guy, but Archie has a special place in his heart for me. I'm sure after the Author's Note in this chapter you can understand why Maxie's scenes have been "few and vague". ;) Never be ashamed to write long reviews! I love them, they're like chocolate for the writer's soul!_

_JetravenEx - as far as kitty Groudon, you'll just have to wait and see. ;) Top 3 favorite champions? Steven, Grimsley, and Lance. Maybe Cynthia, too. Thanks for asking!_

_DragonkynNatKiasu - You are AWESOME for all the questions! I answered them over PM because I didn't want to load up the chapter with a false word count, but you definitely get a mention for all the thought you put into your questions! :D_

_LeprechaunGreen - I'm sorry that you didn't want Maxie to be added in. I hope you'll still stick with the story and just see how it plays out! My favorite legendary of all the regions...hmm...probably Suicune. My first ever game was Pokemon Crystal and I chose it for Suicune specifically. Runners-up are Articuno and Lugia. (I don't really care TOO much for the newer legendaries, although Xerneas and Kyogre are fantastic, too.)_

_Mononokehime503 - So sorry that it's going to be a square now! I hope you'll stick it out and just see where the story goes for a little while before clicking that sad little x button and the top of the screen! D:_

_EnigmaUniverse - I was actually uncertain as to whether I should include that line in the story, but then I decided that, just like May, I couldn't give any more fucks and did it. I"m glad you liked it! And no, your long review was fantastic! Keep it up!_

_Almiaranger - I don't usually appreciate puns, but that was pretty great. I got a nice laugh out of it. :)_

_F. Flotsam - I'm so glad you liked post-bombing Starbucks therapy! I thought it was a rather nice touch, myself. ;) And Archie...your description of him is perfect. Weird scary-gangster-marshmallow. I love it!_

_That's all for now. Damn, I might need to respond to people via PM. So many people are leaving such fantastic reviews! :D_

_As for me, I'd date Archie. Is is not obvious how much I love him?_

**QUESTION: What was the first generation you played?**

_So, keep up the love and don't forget: IF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH MAXIE, GIVE ME SOME INSIGHT INTO HIS CHARACTER! You get brownies if you do!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Heeey, everyone! New chapter, almost less than 48 hours!_

_I'm just a badass. You can say it, don't be shy. ;)_

_This chapter is dedicated to Archie and his awesomeness. (I'm totally rooting for him, but I'm also rooting for Steven. D: I'm giving Maxie a shot, though. Dunno how I feel about him yet...never fear! He shows up next chapter.)_

_On with the story!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven: Daddy Issues<strong>

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><p>The first class of geology was as much as May had come to expect—Professor Devon introduced himself, then Steven did so as the class's TA, and then they proceeded to go over the syllabus. Like in algebra, there was a reading assignment, but instead of problems to solve found within the textbook's pages, the class was briefed on the project that May and those who had shown up the previous Monday had been and all the students were told to start looking into a type of rock or gemstone that they would be interested in studying. She was glad she had shown up for the optional meeting because Steven's explanation had been much more detailed and holistic, whereas Professor Devon's speech was short, vague, and left much to be desired in the way of information.<p>

They were let out early, to May's supreme joy, and she immediately locked her sights onto Steven, thinking that she wouldn't mind asking him for tips on what kind of rock she should study for the project. She gathered her things calmly but quickly, hoping to catch him before he got caught up in a conversation with one of the many other girls who had been ogling him as soon as they entered the classroom.

"H-hey, May," came a timid voice from beside her.

May looked up and saw Wally, the shy boy she had met at the meeting last Monday. She smiled at him. "Oh, hi, Wally. How are you?"

"I'm f-fine," he stammered with a small smile. He was very red for some reason. May absently noticed the casual pastel clothing he wore, which was not only a little too big for his frail form but also had a distinctly old-people feel to it. "H-how are you?"

"I'm pretty good," she replied. She had finished gathering her things and was itching to approach Steven, but as she began to walk away, Wally was keeping pace with her. "I'm glad class was let out early. It gives me plenty of time to-"

May's eyes flashed in annoyance when she noticed Lucy Bennett and her unnamed friend simpering in front of Steven. There was no sign of whether he was merely tolerating it or if he was actually enjoying the conversation. She hated to admit it, but a surge of jealousy rushed through her.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled out all the negative feelings. She might have a crush on him, Lucy Bennett and her friend might have a crush on him, _hell_, the entire _female population_ probably had a crush on Steven Stone—but it didn't matter because May couldn't date him until she had finished the class. She let the jealousy ebb away—although she couldn't help that a little lingered against her will—and then realized that she had stopped talking midsentence.

Wally was still standing there, looking at her questioningly. "It gives me plenty of time to get to work, is all," she replied, forcing a smile onto her face. Jealousy or no, she still felt a little deflated at not getting to talk to Steven again, even if their time at lunch was more than she could have ever asked for.

Wally's face lit up. "Oh, where do you work?" he asked. She began walking and he walked alongside her. May vaguely noticed that the green-haired boy seemed to be going way out of his comfort zone by talking to her, what with the way he was flushed so red. Then she wondered if maybe he was sick.

"I work at Maxie's Bakery," she told him. She decided to ignore the way his eyes widened.

"O-oh…" he trailed off, looking extremely disappointed. The fact that he was judging her—for what, though?—bothered her deeply.

"What's wrong with working there?" she asked, a little indignantly.

"N-nothing!" Wally exclaimed, seeming embarrassed that she had picked up on his change in demeanor. "It's j-just that…isn't th-that place run by a," he lowered his voice conspiratorially, "g-gang l-leader?"

May was so shocked that she burst out into laughter. "Maxie?" she gasped, still laughing. "The _leader_? Of a _gang_? I don't even—wow. I can't. I can't even…_wow_."

Wally was watching her closely and as she calmed down he laughed a little, too. "Well, th-that's what everyone s-says…but if you know him p-personally, I guess you would know b-better than a-anyone."

May waved her hand dismissively. "Well, I don't know him _that_ well, but there's no way in hell _that guy_ is a gang leader. He's so prim and proper…I could never, ever see him dealing with a bunch of low-life thugs and gangbangers. It's just, well, it seems like it would be beneath him, you know?"

Her companion nodded fervently. "O-okay," he replied. They had left the building and were now in the courtyard between the science hall and the art hall. "Oh, there's my aunt!"

May's eyes widened in surprise as Wally started waving to an older lady dressed in frighteningly similar colors. It looked suspiciously as though she had dressed him…which was absurd, because even if he lived with his family—extended family?—there would be no way he could be letting his aunt dress him for school like he was five or something!

She followed Wally towards his aunt, more out of curiosity than anything at this point and because she had an extra hour that she had to kill. The closer they were to the older lady, the more the similarity in clothing became apparent. May found herself really wanting to ask just how old her new friend actually was.

"Aunt Veronica, this is my new friend, May," Wally told the woman when they had both approached her.

Aunt Veronica was a maternal-looking older woman with curly, graying brown hair pulled back into a bun, although her face was rather young for the gray hair growth. She seemed to exude warmth and kindness and May instantly liked her just on first impression alone. She wore a pink cardigan over a ruffled white blouse and a long purple skirt that fell down nearly to her ankles.

"Why, hello, May," Veronica said sweetly, holding out her hand. "It's very nice to meet you, sweetheart."

May blushed a little and took the other woman's hand, shaking it. Veronica had a firm grasp, which May liked to think reflected a strong and confident woman. "It's nice to meet you, too," she said, smiling as warmly as possible.

Veronica went on, after they had released each other's hands, "I'm so glad Wally has made some friends." May hadn't thought it possible, but Wally was blushing even more intensely now. The older woman continued, unabashed. "I thought with him getting into such a large school at only sixteen he would be left out, but you've allayed my worries, so thank you." She smiled gratefully at May.

May was burning with embarrassment and filled with awe simultaneously at Veronica's confession. Wally was only _sixteen_ and he had gotten into Harvard? That was pretty impressive in her books. It didn't quite explain the way he dressed, but it damn well explained everything else. The shyness, the stuttering, the flushing…it all made sense now. She was very glad she had accompanied him outside and walked with him, even though when she had seen Steven with the other girls there had been a flash of irritation. Now, that little inconvenience meant nothing to her. If _she_ were sixteen and going to a large, prestigious school, she would want someone to be her friend, too.

"O-oh, it's n-nothing," May replied, stammering enough to rival Wally. She laughed to ease some of the tension.

"I'd offer you a ride, dear, but I'm afraid cars are actually probably the slowest form of transportation in this town," Veronica said.

"I-if you want t-to," Wally piped up unexpectedly, "w-we could go to the museum to check out s-stuff for our p-project, sometime."

May looked at him with interest, but quickly told Veronica, "Yeah, I'm starting to see that. And which museum were you talking about?"

"The Harvard Museum of Natural History, of course," Veronica answered for him. "It's not too far from here."

"Oh, yeah, that'd be nice. Here, let me give you my number…"

She gave Wally her number before she told them she had to be on her way. Waving goodbye, May quickly headed towards the subway, which would take her home. She didn't have work that day and she was planning to get ahead on the math homework while she still could.

Just as she was taking a seat, her phone vibrated. It was Cassie, and May also noticed that she had a reply text message from Archie from about half an hour ago, when she still would have been in class. After the terrible bombing incident, May always kept her phone on silent during class. As much as she was glad that Archie had called when he did, it had also been terribly embarrassing to get so flustered with all those people around.

First, she read Cassie's message.

To: May

From: Cassie

Message Body: R u coming in 2day?

May couldn't help but frown a little at the abbreviated text, but knew that it was a battle she would never win. She hated it when Brendan texted with single letters and numbers instead of words and she had all but beat it into him that it made him sound stupider than he already was. He wasn't easily deterred, but she had harped on him consistently enough that he now typed out the word 'you'.

With Cassie, of course, it simply wasn't her place.

To: Cassie

From: May

Message Body: Not for work, but boss wants me to come in afterhours.

Just as May was opening up Archie's text, Cassie's reply flashed back at her and grudgingly, she opened it.

To: May

From: Cassie

Message Body: ooooo cool. We shuld totally meet up after ;)

To: Cassie

From: May

Message Body: Maybe, today was my first day of college and I might be tired. I'll keep you posted. :)

After that, May was free to check Archie's message.

To: May

From: Archie

Message Body: Whatcha doin around 9?

To: Archie

From: May

Message Body: I have a meeting with my boss at eight, so I have no idea if I'll be home by then or not.

Unlike Cassie, Archie's reply was not instantaneous. This turned out to be good because she had just arrived at her stop. She figured she could just knock on his door or something to see what was up. May couldn't deny that she was a little excited to be hanging out with both Steven and Archie in the same day. It was pretty cool, in her opinion, although it was making her wonder how she was going to handle it if they both ended up reciprocating her feelings. While that was enormously unlikely, she was still a little apprehensive. What if she had to choose? Steven had caught her eye first, but Archie had saved her _life_…

As she approached her apartment, she realized she didn't even need to knock on his door because Archie was on his porch, smoking a cigarette and thumbing a text message into his phone. It was perfect except that the big blue monstrosity tethered to the pole between their doors was now lunging in her direction and barking happily.

Archie growled at Kyogre in annoyance before realizing that the dog was acting up because of May. He took a long drag of his cigarette and stood, waving at her.

"Hey, babe," he said with a crooked grin. "Was just texting ya back."

May laughed, approaching her door but not quite able to reach it because of Kyogre's attempts to tackle her, despite the fact that she was tethered by her leash to the pole. "Is she…always going to be like this around me?"

Archie scratched his head. She noticed that he was wearing a solid navy blue bandana on his head and it rather suited him. The tight white wife beater he was wearing and the form-fitting blue jeans weren't helping May's attraction to him, either. It was like he was built out of solid muscle. "I dunno," he said contemplatively. "I expect she'll probably get used to you sooner or later. Can't say if that'll stop her from doing her thing, though."

Startled out of her appreciation for his physique, May shook her head to clear the unwanted thoughts and nodded. "That's what I thought," she said, having only hear the last few words that he'd said and hoping that what she replied with had made sense.

He smirked wickedly at her, as though he knew that she hadn't been paying attention because of his body, and then sat back down in his chair.

May blushed and cleared her throat. "So, did you want to hang out or something?"

Archie shrugged. "I figured you'll be pretty tied down with school'n shit by, I dunno, the day after tomorrow, so I figured you might want to come over and have a beer to celebrate the good life before you get sucked into the endless black hole that is Harvard University."

"I'm only eighteen," she said, not quite objecting but also not quite sure she wanted to break the law.

"It's totally illegal and I totally do not care," Archie said. There was a teasing look in his eyes that almost seemed to be daring her. "You shouldn't care, either. We'll be inside and it's not like cops are going to raid my apartment unexpectedly."

May smiled, but was a little confused by his wording. Did that there were times when cops would raid his apartment _expectedly_? She decided that wasn't a question she wanted to ask, nor did she want to know the answer to. "Well, let me see how the meeting with my boss goes. For all I know, I'll be losing my job and the beer will be a consolation prize." He chuckled and she peered closer at him. "How old are you, anyway?"

"Thirty-one," he replied. May's eyes widened. She had always known he was older, but she hadn't expected the age gap to be quite that large. He laughed when he saw her expression. "What? It's not like I could be your dad or anything. I ain't that fuckin old."

At his playful indignation, May decided that she didn't care if she was interested in someone thirteen years older than her. Maybe an older guy was what she needed, anyway. Steven was bound to be a good bit older than her, too, and that certainly didn't bother her.

But she decided to play right back. "Actually, in this day and age, it's totally plausible that you could be my father," she replied with a stone-face. Then, she gasped. "You know, I'm actually adopted, so-"

The next thing she knew she was dodging a cigarette butt, aimed at her forehead. May began laughing at Archie's annoyed pout, doubling over and grasping her sides as she laughed.

"There ain't no way I got a kid," he said, a little sullenly. "And you better watch it, girlie. I might just 'accidentally' let Kyogre off her leash."

May stopped laughing immediately and glared at him. "You wouldn't."

"You wanna try me?"

"If you do it, I'm just going to call you Daddy from now on," she threatened. She felt as though this constituted as flirting, but she since she was talking about calling him 'daddy', she wasn't so sure.

Archie looked distinctly nauseated. "Sorry, babe, I ain't into that shit. Go find some other sucker if you wanna do _that_."

May finally calmed down all the way and decided that if she kept up the daddy-talk, any interest on his side would dry up. "I take it back. If you were anything like my dad, I'd be more concerned about having an Electra complex."

It was kind of a coin toss to see what Archie's reaction would be. Did he know enough about Freud to be familiar with the Electra complex, the lesser-known female version of the Oedipus complex? If he did, she had just told him she thought of him as a possible lover. If he didn't, then the whole thing would go right over his head and his pride would just be assuaged.

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she immediately hoped for the latter response.

Unfortunately, there was now a mischievous look in his eyes that May wasn't sure if she liked and did funny things to her insides. "Is that right?" he asked, leaning forward with devious curiosity.

Shit. The coin had landed on tails and now she had to book it.

"Oh, would you look at the time?" May exclaimed suddenly. "I haven't eaten yet," lie "so I should probably go making somethi-"

Archie burst out into raucous laughter. "You're playin' with fire, babe," he told her. "Make sure you don't get burned."

May cursed inwardly as she blushed and there was an awkward silence, at least on her end. Archie seemed to be enjoying the hell out of himself as he watched her flush with embarrassment, though.

"Well? Go make yourself something to eat," he said, waving her away after she just stood there for a while. "Don't mind me." The wicked smirk on his face, however, told her that he had one-hundred percent caught her implication and was thoroughly enjoying seeing her rather virginal response to him.

"Y-yeah," she stammered, slipping her keys into the lock and all but rushing into her apartment. Kyogre had calmed for a moment while she and Archie talked, but now that May was leaving she began to whine and lunge towards her again.

"See you when you get off work?" Archie called.

Despite her embarrassment and the clear knowledge that she truly was playing with fire, May called back, "Only if you behave yourself!" before she slammed the door shut.

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><p><em>Okie doke, everyone. I hope you enjoyed it! May really is playing with fire, isn't she?<em>

_For all of you who skipped the author's note up top, Maxie is coming up next! I know you guys probably expected him this chapter, and he totally WAS in this chapter, but then so much was happening that I decided to make it two chapters in the end. However, expect a new update Monday or Tuesday!_

_Review time! Damn, you all are awesome. :D Special thanks to EnigmaUniverse, Pikas, Akatsupure, DragonkynNatKiasu, RubySmiley, mupp3tbab3h, 0Shadow Panther0, TrebleKnight, F. Flotsam, Felicity Dream, loli-belle, L van Am, terracannon876, Guest, Swiftfire Mews, and Gabyy3. You all are the best!_

_Everyone who gave me info on Maxie gets SPECIAL brownies... ;) lol They can be 'special' in any way that pleases you... (This is totally a convoluted reference to next chapter. No, there will not be pot brownies, buuuuut...well, just wait til next chapter.)_

_And by the way. You all over there, with the long reviews? You get CANDLES on your brownies. Yes. You get fucking candles. :D_

_Pikas - thank you for reminding me about Wally! He is actually intended to be a 'regular' in this story._

_Akatsupure - Honestly? I have no effin clue. Probably until my imagination runs out. Right now, the story is just writing itself, which is why the chapters are coming out so fast. I'm going to at least get May through freshman year and from there, we'll see how it goes. But May will at least make it to freshman year. Promise. :)_

**_NOTE: TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE COMMENTED ABOUT HOW WONDERFUL IT IS THAT THE CHAPTERS ARE COMING OUT SO QUICKLY - IT'S BECAUSE YOU REVIEWED. YES, A SIMPLE REVIEW HAS MADE ME UPDATE AT LEAST 3 TIMES THIS WEEK. THAT IS THE POWER OF THE REVIEW!_**

_DragonkynNatKiasu - Yes, I nickname all of my Pokemon, even if the nicknames are shitty and don't even make sense. When I was watching a video of a player's final battle with Maxie, the player's Swampert's nickname was DoUEvenLift? I really appreciated that. When it evolved into Mega Swampert, I was just laughing my ass off. I really, really appreciated that in ways I cannot describe. As far as my favorite 'type' of video game, I don't have one. I follow two or three series for the 3ds and just play those to death as they come out. The ones that come to mind are Harvest Moon and Pokemon, but there are a few others._

_mupp3tbabeh - Awesome! That was my first game too, exactly! I bought Crystal specifically for Suicune..._

_Felicity Dream - I have LOTS I want to say to you, so I'm probably going to PM you later when it's not 2am in the morning. :D As for your question...with the exception of very few, the ONLY thing I do is protag/villain pairings. I pretty much like any boss with any female protag. I'm not much into yaoi/yuri (just 'cause). My favorite pairing right now is Archie/May, but I also like dark Cyrus/Dawn. I like dark stories. This story is a complete 180 of what I usually do. I like angsty, dark, terrible stuff. You DO NOT want to see my other writings. It's horrific. :( P.S. You're awesome for writing such long reviews! Yours was the longest one for this chapter!_

_terracannon876 - Yes, my inspiration for Maxie was actually from Omegaevolution's final battle video. Thanks so much, you got the story moving again!_

_Gabyy3 - Oooh, you asked a tough question. Favorite type is overall is Dragon...hmm...my favorite pokemon from that is Dragonair. I always loved her (shh, it'll always be a female to me) and always will. It's really lame that something so beautiful and awesome evolves into something dopey and cute like Dragonite. Don't get me wrong, Dragonite is cool, but...Dratini was cute. Dragonair was beautiful. Dragonite is...a mail man? (Reference to First Pokemon Movie.) And yes, I'll probably do a BlueOrbShipping one-shot at some point. If nothing else, there's going to be a BlueOrbShipping lemon one-shot. It may or may not be related to this story. :)_

**Question: Of all the Teams in all the generations, which had the most noble pursuit and why?**

_Reviews are love and long reviews are eternal love. :D_


	8. Chapter 8

_Welcome, my eager friends. Welcome to the day you all have been waiting for!_

_MAXIE'S OFFICIAL DEBUT!_

_Also known as: In Which SHIT GOES DOWN._

_Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight: Off Come the Rose-Colored Glasses<strong>

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><p>After her hilarious but nerve-wracking encounter with Archie and the mix of embarrassment and giddiness that followed, May was pretty sure that the day couldn't get any more exciting. She had a hard time focusing on her homework, still a little shameful but also thrilled at the way her encounter with the older man had gone. That had definitely been flirting and she hadn't been the only one participating. She wasn't going to let her head get into the clouds or anything, but the interaction had left her feeling giddy and lighthearted. Naturally, the last thing she wanted to do was read about algebraic algorithms.<p>

Nonetheless, she eventually calmed down enough to focus and actually made a good dent in her homework. By that point it was about dinnertime, so she cooked herself the classic and highly lauded traditional college food: Top Ramen. She let the soup cool as she switched over to her geology textbook, letting her brain take a rest from its least favorite subject.

At around 7:30pm she had finished reading chapter one of her "Earth Alive" textbook. She brushed her hair, reapplied makeup and deodorant, fixed her clothing to look less rumpled, and then head towards the subway. She had never opened or closed the store before and she wasn't quite sure how she was going to get in if the door was locked, but she trusted Maxie had thought ahead for that eventuality.

When she arrived, it turned out that he had. There was a bulky man wearing the same Red Sox jersey that Cassie and her group of friends had been wearing. He had black hair with the strangest cowlick in his bangs and was rather overweight, but also looked like he could pack a hefty punch. He intimidated her and she hesitated to approach the store until he noticed her.

"May Andrews?" the man asked gruffly.

She nodded warily, fidgeting a little at the man's gruff tone.

"Boss gave me a key and told me to let you in," the man replied. "My name is Tabitha."

May nodded slowly, not quite understanding. "Do…you work here?" she asked hesitantly. She had been working at the bakery for a little over two weeks now and she hadn't seen hide nor hair of this guy until now.

"Sort of," he responded vaguely. At her confused look, he went on. "Just go talk to the boss. You'll understand afterwards."

May was starting to wonder if she should be nervous, but Tabitha was already unlocking the door and ushering her inside. The bakery still smelled of bread and sweets, although it was not nearly as overpowering as when she worked there during the day. It was also drastically cooler inside than usual, probably because the ovens were off and had been off for a good few hours.

"Go to the back," Tabitha said, startling her. It shouldn't have surprised her that he followed her inside, but for some reason it made her stomach twist a little nervously. It was probably just the fact that no one else was here and the store was completely dark except for the glowing red exit sign over the door and the shadows cast by the lamplights outside.

May had to admit to herself that this situation was more than a little sketchy.

Trying to calm her nerves—because she was obviously being ridiculous, she _worked _here—May straightened her back and proceeded around the front counter and past the 'Staff Only' door. She walked down the hallway to where she remembered Maxie's office being and knocked on the door.

"Come in," came Maxie's calm voice, muffled by the walls.

May turned the knob and entered. Maxie was standing with his hands clasped behind his back, looking at a well-used calendar on the wall. He was wearing all red, as she had come to expect from the people who worked at the bakery. He wore a long red leather trench coat with black accents around the collar and sleeves, a blood red button-up, and red slacks. She had to admit that she was a little surprised at how the outfit actually suited him instead of cringing because of the garishness.

When the door closed he turned around and faced her.

"So good of you to come, May," he said smoothly. A quick glance at his watch morphed his face into one of approval. "And three minutes early. Splendid."

May nodded and smiled. "I do my best to be on time," she said. His apparent good mood put her a bit at ease, but at the same time, the atmosphere was making her even more nervous. She couldn't explain it, but she had a feeling something was about to happen that she may or may not like. She was leaning towards the latter.

"Yes, yes," Maxie agreed. He took a seat, motioned for her to do the same, and began to look over a few sheets of paper, his eyes scanning the pages rapidly. He looked particularly studious wearing his thick black glasses, but they complemented his face rather well. May didn't really like the nerdy look, but she could appreciate how it flattered Maxie at the very least. It seemed the man had some kind of talent for making the unattractive somehow attractive.

She sat quietly, nervousness slowly building in her abdomen as the silence dragged on. Maxie seemed to be a fast reader, as his eyes were darting back and forth quickly over the pages, but she couldn't help but wonder what was taking so long.

"Ah, yes," Maxie said at last, setting down the papers. He adjusted his glasses and looked at her. "So, May, how have you enjoyed working here?"

May wasn't sure why, but that tone gave her a feeling of dread. Was he calling her in to be fired? It was strange that he wouldn't just do it over the phone or just tell her not to come in again when she showed up for her next shift, but the nervousness returned full force. She gulped before replying, "It's been great. Cassie has been teaching me the easier recipes and I've got the cash register down-pat." She smiled a little to show her authenticity, deep down hoping he wasn't going to fire her.

"Indeed. Cassie has informed me that you are an astute learner and something of a perfectionist." He smiled a little and it didn't seem like his face was used to those muscles making that expression, so it was a little strained. "It is a quality I find endearing in my subordinates. I will be the first to say that I believe I made a good choice when hiring you. Now…"

May couldn't help but preen a little on the inside, relieved that she was not, in fact, about to lose her only source of income and more than a bit excited about his compliments.

"It says in my records that you are making eight dollars per hour. Is that correct?" he asked.

May nodded. "Yes." Something about the way he talked so formally made her feel like she was uneducated if she talked the way she normally did. It flattered her that Maxie appreciated her perfectionism when she had often been teased for it throughout middle and high school—and it hadn't always been done in a friendly, lighthearted way.

"And are your finances doing well with that pay?"

May suddenly wondered if she was about to get a raise. The way Maxie had said it seemed like she _shouldn't_ be making enough and implying that she _could_ be making more. Mind whirring, she quickly tried to figure out how to best respond.

Finally, she decided up, "Well, I'm surviving," she said. "But I've always been a strong believer of the maxim, 'Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it,' so…"

Maxie looked distinctly pleased by her quote. "Benjamin Franklin? How pleasant your mind is. Then again, Franklin also said, 'Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has, the more of it one wants.'"

May realized that there was a distinct possibility that he was testing her. She thought fast and replied in kind, "However, money is what is allowing me to go to school here, and 'an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.' So I think I'm on the right track."

Maxie was now watching her with a contemplative interest in his eyes. "So, you would not be opposed to making more money, then?"

"Not at all," May replied with a grin. She could see from his expression that she had impressed him.

"Then I would like to tell you about a little side project that I have going. If you can learn discretion, then it very well may be worth your time. However, I do stress that discretion is key to this operation, do you understand?"

May nodded, but was wondering why she would need to be discreet about the side project of a bakery, of all things.

"As much as I like you, May, I cannot say that I trust you as of yet. If you are interested in participating in this side project, there is a package I need you to deliver. A…show of good faith, if you will?"

More hesitantly now, May nodded.

Maxie nodded and his reddish-brown eyes were shining with approval behind his glasses. He pulled out a small, unmarked brown package and passed it over the table to her. "Tabitha will escort you. He knows the location of our client and will be with you to assure that all goes well."

Her palms were sweaty, she noticed. Something was going on here, something bigger than her, and she wasn't sure that she liked it. Her excitement from going toe-to-toe with him intellectually and not embarrassing herself was all but forgotten. "And if I deliver the package and all goes well?"

"You will be paid $500. After that, we will discuss your salary further."

Five hundred dollars…red warning bells were going off in her head, but seriously, _five hundred dollars?_ For delivering one stupid package? What could be in there that would be worth that much for a simple delivery?

Something was tugging insistently at the back of her mind, but May just couldn't be bothered to remember it. Five hundred dollars! Like hell she was passing that up!

"I'll do it," she replied, taking the package and carefully securing it under her arm.

"Good," Maxie said pleasantly. "Go with Tabitha. I expect you back here in less than an hour. It's not too far away and he'll be driving you."

May nodded and walked out the door to where Tabitha was waiting for her. He took one glance at the package under her arm and nodded at her. Trying to calm the uncomfortable fluttering in her stomach, she followed him out the back exit of the store and he led her over to a large white van. It looked shady as all hell and May felt the niggling reminder of something she couldn't remember in the back of her head.

She shook her head in irritation—although who or what she was irritated with was unknown to her—and followed Tabitha into the van, taking the passenger seat.

Tabitha drove calmly and smoothly, but deep down May wondered if he was censoring his driving like Shelly had. She then remembered that she was supposed to go over to Archie's after her meeting. She hoped that this didn't take too long because seeing him and possibly flirting again would be a nice touch to the end of a long but satisfying day.

_Five hundred dollars!_

They arrived at a cross street and Tabitha expertly parallel parked the car. They hopped out and then she followed him, package still firmly tucked under her arm, into a dimly lit alleyway.

Now alarm bells were blaring. It was something Wally said, today, she was certain. Something about her boss…

Her train of thought was halted when two greasy-looking men walked around the corner. They saw Tabitha and immediately honed in on the pair, their eyes specifically focusing on the package.

"You got it?" the tall one with a limp green mohawk asked, eyeing the package in May's arm less than discreetly.

"Three hundred," Tabitha said. He motioned subtly for May to hold out her hand. Reluctantly, she did so. More than ever, she knew this was bad, and she was starting to wonder if she hadn't asked more questions about the transaction she was supposed to participate in when she was in Maxie's office.

Three Benjamin Franklins—May laughed somewhat hysterically in her mind at the irony—were stuffed into her hand and the shorter of the two strangers held his hand out for the package. May gave it to him and he snatched it, quickly tearing it open and pulling out a small clear plastic baggie of white powder.

And then it came to her.

_Isn't Maxie's Bakery run by a gang leader?_

May's heart stopped beating.

This was a drug deal. She was selling drugs.

"And you're sure it's pure?" the one with a mohawk asked, taking out another baggy and inspecting it.

"Give it a try," Tabitha prodded.

May could only watch with horror as they opened the first bag, dipped their pinky fingers in the pearly white powder, and then spread the substance on their upper gums. After a few moments of substantial heart-racing suspense on May's part, they nodded at each other.

"Good," the shorter one said. "See ya 'round."

Shell-shocked, May could only follow Tabitha back to the van. She had just been involved with a drug deal. She had _sold drugs_. The three hundred dollars, now tightly fisted in her left hand, felt dirty to her.

And just as she could have expected, when she returned to the shop, Maxie had two more hundred dollar bills waiting for her.

_Of course_ she was going to keep the money of her first drug deal. _Of course_ they were going to make her keep it.

Maxie was a keen observer, it seemed. It was probably clear that she was shaken up by the ordeal, but unfortunately, her boss's stoic face gave away nothing of his thoughts. Tabitha walked in after her and at first she thought he was uninvited, but Maxie immediately turned to him and nodded, as if to say, 'go on.'

"It went well," he grunted. May wasn't so sure she agreed with that, but Maxie seemed to read more into what Tabitha was saying than she was able to—maybe it was some kind of code speak?

"Take your money," Maxie told her. She thought about saying no and possibly threaten to call the police, but then she realized that she was all alone in this city. No one—except _maybe_ Archie—would miss her for days. Maxie, while not as big as Tabitha, was still substantially taller than her, and couple him with Tabitha…well, she definitely wouldn't make it out of here unscathed. She wanted to think that they probably wouldn't kill her, but she was suddenly realizing that a lot of what she had thought about her life in Cambridge was not as it seemed.

Trying not to show her reluctance, she stepped forward and took the rest of her money, tucking the five bills into her pocket.

"Now, how would you like to join our side project? The cut is sixty-forty and you will be making sixty percent of your earnings. Tonight was a small deal. You can make copious amounts of money if you do this right." Maxie was watching her closely and May realized that if she wanted to get out of here, she needed to be as convincing as possible without actually saying yes. She could quit her job tomorrow, once she was safe at home.

"I need to think about it," she said as coolly as she could. "I'm taking classes full-time and some of the subjects are going to be difficult for me. I could really use the extra money, and I'm definitely interested, but I need to see if it's something I can fit into my schedule on top of school and my regular hours."

"Ah, yes, your day job," Maxie said with a little smirk. "We can discuss that when you come in tomorrow. I expect your answer when you arrive, May." He looked at Tabitha, who nodded.

"Come on, girl," Tabitha said, and she tried not to seem too excited to be leaving.

Maxie called after them before she was out the door. "Oh, and May? It truly is in your best interests to accept my proposal. I don't choose just anyone to work for me."

There was a threat there, oh yes there was. May could only nod, hoping that her face wasn't green from how nauseated she felt, and then followed Tabitha to the front of the shop, where he let her out.

As soon as she was out of sight, May booked it to the subway. Wally had been right. She was fucked and this was bad. She had told Cassie her address and she was now certain that Cassie was in on this drug dealing business.

May tried not to have a full-blown panic attack on her way back home, sitting alone on the near-empty subway. She took long, calming breaths and consoled herself that she was going to get to see Archie. She felt she could tell him about the mess she had gotten herself into and…

Oh shit. Hadn't Archie basically told her _not_ to work where she was working?

"Fuuuuuuuuuuck," May hissed to herself. The elderly lady two seats away from her looking at her disapprovingly and May was in a bad enough mood to glare right back at her.

Well, Archie would get to tell her 'I told you so' right after he helped her fix this gigantic fuck-up.

Just as she was getting off the subway, her phone rang. May looked at the caller ID and horror quickly spread across her face. It was her mother. Of all people to be calling her right now…

She couldn't very well tell her mother about her day and she decided she would have to ignore in the call in lieu of more important matters, like not becoming a delinquent. 'Yes, mom, today was my first day of class. I have a crush on my TA, which is totally not okay at Harvard, oh, and did I mention that I've been flirting with a man who's thirteen years older than me but saved my life from a bomb I found on his doorstep that I inadvertently set off? Don't worry though, everything else is fine. I just completed my first drug deal today and made five hundred dollars! No more ramen for me! Isn't that just fantastic?'

Yeah, not happening. May silenced her phone and determinedly made her way across the courtyard to Archie's front door.

If he didn't know what to do, then she was well and truly fucked.

* * *

><p><em>Well, May is now officially a felon. How's that for a nice, satisfying day? A pretty long day, too...<em>

_Review time!_

_Drug-free cookies to all those who reviewed, including but not limited to: F. Flotsam, DragonkynNatKiasu, EnigmaUniverse, Akatsupure, 0Shadow Panther0, Almiaranger, Alex T. Wallman, mononokehime503, Guests 1, 2, and 3, j2jackson321, EndlessStorm, Felicity Dream, and Pikas._

_I would like to welcome Alex T. Wallman and EndlessStorm (and all you other lurkers who just joined us) to Oral Presentation! I hope you continue to review so nicely as you have!_

_DragonkynNatKiasu - I am familiar with Rune Factory and I actually have Rune Factory 4. My favorite bachelors are tied between Dylas and Leon. :D Haven't gotten very far yet, though, because ORAS came out! I don't know if there are ten people in Pokemon I'd like to date, but I know for sure that my number one is Archie. Then probably Lysandre, Giovanni, Calem, Brendan, Steven, aaaand...hmm. Oh, Cyrus. And that's about it. As for the friend code, I'll send it to you in PM._

_**TO ALL READERS: IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TRADING FRIEND CODES, PM ME!** I'm always down for making new friends. :D_

_Also, **TO WHOEVER ASKED IF WE WOULD BE GETTING STEVEN POV** - I take back what I said previously. This next chapter has unavoidable Archie POV, and since that can of worms has been opened, there will also be randomly-placed POVs for Steven, Maxie, and maybe Wally, too. In fact, there's a chapter coming up that will not have May's POV at all, but I'm not going to spoil it for you! ;)_

_Almiaranger, EndlessStorm, and Pikas - It is my mission in life to make people ship pairings they never thought they'd ship. I'd consider this a job well done. ;P Thank you for helping me reach my goal my goal! Archie x May FTW!_

_Guest 2 - Haha! Maxie as this story's Madara? From that comment, I can only imagine that you've read my other stories, so KUDOS to you! Maxie may or may not have some Madara-like elements. I'm worried about making him OOC in that regard, since my portrayal of Madara is kinda-sorta OOC, too, and I'm trying to avoid that in this fic. I'll guess you'll just have to wait and see. :P_

_Guest 3 - The funniest nickname I have ever given a Pokemon was a troll I did on my little brother's Pokemon Yellow game. I went to the Safari Zone and spammed his PC boxes with a bunch of shitty Pokemon like Nidoran, Rattata, etc. and named all of them AA Airlines. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the way the GBC PC boxes functioned, but if you didn't give the Pokemon unique nicknames, you literally had to scroll through all of them just to see which one you wanted to withdraw. So he literally had like 20-30 Pokemon spammed into his PC Box all named AA Airlines. Seriously, he was SO pissed off that I did that. I'm still pretty proud of that win. I also never, ever let him borrow my games ever again...lol I was such a little shit. xD_

_Felicity Dream - I already PM'd you, but you still get an extra mention for being so awesome!_

_The award for the longest review this chapter goes to...*drum roll please* ... DRAGONKYNNATKIASU! You get a cookie cake! :D_

_I think the noblest goal was Lysandre. He wanted to rid the world of all its ugliness and I can totally get behind that._

**Question: If you could live in any one version (NOT generation) which would you choose to live in?**

_You all are awesome! Please continue to lavish me with reviews and you may (probably will) get a Wednesday update!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Today, we get to see from Archie's POV. For all of you new to this story or who don't know, we will now be going into the love interests' perspectives because I ended up opening that can of worms this chapter. Since I'm trying to give every pairing a chance, we'll get to see into both Steven and Maxie's POVs as well, and perhaps Wally depending on how the story goes._

_Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Nine: Like a Moth to the Flame<strong>

* * *

><p>If Archie's apartment was to be described in a single word, that word would be 'bachelor.'<p>

It was a one-bedroom, unlike May's studio, and had the ongoing theme of navy blue and off-white. There was a navy blue three-person couch in the living room facing a gigantic television set with surround-sound speakers, two similarly-colored recliners on both sides, and a sturdy black coffee table in the center of it all. The kitchen was similar to hers except in that it had a dishwasher as well as everything else. Archie apparently had the foresight to lock Kyogre in his bedroom so that the rambunctious dog wouldn't maul May the moment she walked in the door. It wasn't clear whether he had cleaned up for her arrival or not, although there was a distinct lack of dirty boxers laying around like there always had been in Brendan's room.

"You look like shit" was the first thing that Archie told her when she knocked on his door before inviting her in.

She was now sitting on one end of the couch holding a bottle of Heineken, dismally swirling the contents of the green bottle and waiting for Archie to sit down so she could spill her disastrous night. He was in the kitchen, readying something, but if it was food she certainly couldn't smell it. May sincerely hoped that she wasn't going to get any more surprises tonight.

May didn't get to find out. She glanced over at him with tired eyes, the adrenaline of the night starting to wear off, and saw him snapping shut a sleek, expensive-looking laptop. Not for the first time did she wonder what the hell he did for a living if he could afford a nice apartment with nice furniture and nice gadgets like a 60-inch flat screen TV and the beautiful monster that was his laptop.

After her encounter with Maxie's true nature, May was starting to think that honestly, anything was possible.

Archie took a long swig of his beer before tucking the laptop under his arm and coming to the living room. He tossed the laptop carelessly on the nearest loveseat in a manner that said he had absolutely no regard for the state of its wellbeing and then collapsed on the couch.

"So, d'you get fired or something?" he asked casually, taking another hearty gulp of beer.

May sighed and leaned back fully into the plush couch. "What do you do when you find out your boss is, at the very least, the head of a drug ring?"

This caught Archie's attention. "Where the hell are you working?" He was looking at her with great interest, leaning forward from his reclined position on the couch.

"Take wild guess," she deadpanned.

"The only place I know of that's involved with drugs is Maxine's Bakery." He snickered. "But I already told ya that was a bad place to work, so I know you're not stupid enough to have gotten a job there."

When May winced and crossed her arms, looking away, Archie's eyes widened comically.

"Oh, shit. No. No. Do _not_ tell me you work at that fucking son of a bitch's pansy-ass shop."

Her dismal silence may as well have painted the word 'GUILTY' across her forehead in bright red lettering. With a Sharpie.

Archie was staring at her in openmouthed wonder. The look on his face said clearly that he had clearly misjudged her initially and was currently reassessing his judgment of her character—or rather, her brain mass.

"I told you not to work there!" he exclaimed after a long moment.

"You said Maxine's Bakery! It's Maxie's! I've never lived here before so how the hell was I supposed to know that there weren't two of them?" May wanted to be angry at his callousness, but she, too, was reassessing her brain mass. It hadn't been that hard to put together that the deprecating nickname was just that: a nickname.

Archie exhaled deeply and rubbed his eyes in exasperation. "It's not that hard to figure out, babe." There was deep disappointment in his tone. May flinched.

May felt the stress of the last two hours overwhelming her, giving her emotions the last push they needed to start overflowing. Tears pricked her eyes and she glared at the coffee table as though it had deeply offended her, trying to grasp onto anger directed at Archie rather than anger at herself. However, she was fighting a losing battle. To make up for it, she quickly chugged her beer, not caring how bad it tasted or the way it made her empty stomach churn.

They sat in silence, Archie deep in thought while May tried desperately not to break down into tears. It wasn't that big of a deal, right? Except for the fact she had been deceived and then more or less coerced into it by the severity of the situation.

"So, what are you going to do?" Archie asked at last. "You gonna quit?"

May closed her eyes to fight the stinging tears. "I don't think I can," she answered quietly.

"Why the hell not?" There was no accusation behind his tone, just harshly-worded curiosity.

Feeling the tears dangerously close to leaking out, May took a deep breath and tried not to let her voice convey her state of distress. "When I came in tonight, Maxie—my boss—wanted me to deliver a package for him. He didn't tell me what was in it, only that I would get five hundred dollars if I did it. Being dumb and naïve, I took the package. By the time I r-r-realized it was dr-drugs," May took a deep breath to steady her voice, "it was too late. I followed this guy Maxie sent me with back to the shop and then Maxie basically said that it would be a v-very good idea t-to acc-accept his offer. He was threatening me…"

Archie was silent as she talked and when he said nothing for a long time, May felt the hysteria she held in burst.

"I sold drugs!" she began to sob. She had just enough mind to put the beer down before she buried her face into her hands and began crying all-out. "I'm a criminal! If I had been caught, that would be a-a felony or something! I d-didn't r-realize—I'm-I'm so stup-stupid…"

If May had had any presence of mind to be observing Archie's reaction, she would have seen a second of genuine panic in his eyes at the sight of pretty girl who was crying on his couch in his living room. Then there would have been a moment of guilt for being so harsh with her when she was obviously distressed, then more panic as he tried to figure out how to respond.

However, all she noticed was that while she was midsentence babbling about how horrible and idiotic she was, Archie had pulled her into him. She immediately latched onto him and bawled into his chest while he held her. If she had been blessed with telepathic abilities, she would have heard him thinking something along the lines of:

_Oh shit oh shit oh shit. This would be so much nicer if she wasn't crying. Shit shit shit. Hell, this would be fucking fantastic if she wasn't crying AND she was naked. Shit, shit, no, don't think like that about chicks who are crying, even if they're hot as hell...Shit! No, stop that! Fuck, she's still crying!_

And as she continued to cry into his t-shirt, the more uncouth thoughts would have dissipated into:

_Fuck! Will she ever stop blubbering? Motherfucker! I didn't fucking sign up for this!_

And five minutes later…

_God dammit. When did I become such a fucking pussy?_

But all that May knew was that Archie was petting her hair and letting her cry hysterically into his warm, strangely comfortable chest. In fact, his chest was very, very comfortable, and there was nothing she could think of that was more comforting than his large, strong arms holding her close. With Archie there protecting her, the sudden thought that Maxie would never be able to take down someone like him to get to her was definitely reassuring.

With that thought, she slowly stopped crying and then drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>xXx<p>

* * *

><p>"Babe? Babe?"<p>

May had stopped crying, something for which Archie was very relieved, but now that she was quiet, she was…_too _quiet.

He tried again, a little louder this time. "May?"

When there was no response, he tried to pull away from her. However, this was thwarted by her snuggling closer to him. She was all but in his lap right now and there was the momentary thought that maybe she wanted something a bit more _comforting_ than to just cry on his shoulder…

And then he realized she was asleep.

Damn it. She had fallen asleep on him, and he couldn't help but notice that she was something of a cuddler, too, because when he gently tried to pry her off him, she only gripped him tighter.

Archie sighed a long-suffering sigh and surrendered to the fact that she was sleeping on him. After his harsh treatment of her, he would feel guilty if he woke her up in order to send her home to sleep in her own bed. She was an attractive little thing and her natural scent was pretty nice, so it wasn't like he was terribly opposed to letting her sleep on him all night, except that he had other things to attend to in about…

Archie glanced at the digital clock on his wall. In two hours. He also felt a little vindictive towards his enemy and rival for practically coercing May into selling drugs. He was pretty familiar with the tactic—make your newbie commit a crime so that they can't go ratting you out without getting into trouble themselves, then take advantage of their vulnerability and make them think that since they were already going to get in trouble if they were ever found out, they might as well get something substantial out of it. Money, to be specific. Archie had seen it happen a good number of times, but had always decided he liked his subordinates fully willing and there out of their own volition. Still, he wouldn't deny that it was a damn smart tactic.

But Maxie was fucking with the wrong chick if he was going to try to employ May. Archie had already laid his claim on the girl loud and clear, but apparently Maxie's eyes and ears were both blind and deaf because for fuck's sake, he had made it _obvious_.

Archie wasn't quite sure how Maxie had missed the fact that May was clearly his, but he had, and that needed to be rectified immediately. He and Maxie had had plenty of turf wars, competition over clientele, and fights over distributors, but there was no fucking way he was going to get into a pissing contest over May. He'd seen her first, since he had been the one to warn May away from that shithole of a bakery, so there really was no disputing the fact that if anyone was going to be in her company, it would be him.

He was distracted by his thoughts when May suddenly took a deep breath and then sighed heavily. Hope bloomed in his chest that she was finally waking up, but then she just shifted so that her head was resting on his lap—dangerously close to a place that was _not_ ideal at the moment—and Archie suppressed a groan.

How long had it been since he had a really good fuck? He had had that fling with Shelly six or so months back, but he was a rather territorial male and Shelly liked living the good life too much to quit her 'job,' so that hadn't worked out for long. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't one of the meatheads who hit it and quit it. Sure, he had had his fair share of one night stands and all, but he was getting to a point in his life where he was actually looking for something a little more…steady. With everything else always being such a shit storm, it would be nice to have a constant in his life.

He glanced down at the girl sleeping on his lap. Yeah, she was pretty young, and he knew better than to get involved with teenagers, who were so flighty and fickle, but something about May just drew him to her.

"Like a moth to a fucking flame," he sighed with vague frustration, absentmindedly running his fingers through her soft hair.

Before long, the doorbell rang and Archie cursed. He'd forgotten that he had ordered food since he hadn't eaten and May had seemed so distraught, but apparently, it was now here. The position he was in with the sleeping girl had been more than comfortable, but duty called.

Gently, he pried himself out from under her and went to answer the door. He dealt with the delivery boy easily, handing him a generous tip despite his irritation that he had been interrupted. When he turned back around, chicken wings and pizza in hand, May was blinking and sitting up.

"Did I…did I fall asleep or something?" she asked blearily.

He grunted an affirmation. "You hungry?" he then asked, holding up the boxes of food.

May stared at him for a moment before the smell of hot pizza and buffalo chicken wings hit her. "Hell yeah, I am," she said with a small smile. Then she faltered, as if remembering everything that had happened before she fell asleep.

"Don't worry about it," he told her, setting the food down and going to get some plates. "I'll handle it. You just stay away from him."

May nodded. "Okay."

He returned with the plates, another beer for himself, and then a can of coke for May, since he didn't think drinking was something that would be good for her at this point. She was quiet as she piled her plate high with a little bit of everything and was even quieter as she ate. He decided that it would be best to let her process the day and eat in peace. Maxie, however, was not going to be getting much peace at all come 2am. Archie was going to have to pay his _friend_ a little visit.

Like a moth to a flame, indeed.

* * *

><p><em>Review time!<em>

_Mucho amor para: Darling Grimm, TrueIchiro, Anime-girl-next-door, Pikas, loli-belle, DragonkynNatKiasu, Skyblu7, RubySmiley, JetravenEx, mononokehime503, Akatsupure, Smiling Loki, Almiaranger, Felicity Dream, EnigmaUniverse, L van Am, Veiton, 0Shadow Panther0, mupp3tbab3h, Alex T. Wallman, EndlessStorm, Ninten-Fan143, Okeanos-heart, the cerulean samurott, TrebleKnight, , and terracannon876._

_To both DragonkynNatKiasu and Pikas: Thanks for asking for my friend code! You both are awesome!_

_JetravenEx - I have a feeling you're really going to like the next chapter. ;) No spoilers though! Also, my friend code is currently residing in your inbox. As far as your question, I'd want to live in Hoenn, so I suppose my life would be similar to trying to become a super-strong trainer and all. Then again, I might try to become an Admin for Team Aqua, just so I could interact with Archie. (Shelly, you have competition! :D) I'd probably have Absol as my number-one Pokemon, and I probably wouldn't have any starters. As far as just a team I would like to have that doesn't have to be able to handle just about everything, I'd have Absol, Altaria, Salamence, Flygon, and possibly Rayquaza and Kyogre. Then again, that would mean I was the main character, so who knows? Maybe Archie and I will be PARTNERS instead of me just being an Admin. ;)_

_Anime-girl-next-door - Why is Hoenn my favorite? Because...because...everything. Specifically, though, I love the characters. And I really like the layout. Beaches, lots of ocean, a volcano, forests, deserts...it's just fantastic. :D_

_Pikas - As far as Madara-sensei!, I have absolutely no idea. It's not going to be discontinued (seriously, almost 50 reviews for two chapters?!) but it's taking a little while. I promise it will be updated as soon as I can. But Oral Presentation is truly my first priority right now. I'm just having too much fun with it._

_DragonkynNatKiasu - I'm not super familiar with Gen IV, but as far as mega evolutions...hmm...probably any of the legendaries. I wasn't really a fan of the new Pokemon with the exception of Luxray, so...yeah. _

_Skyblu7 - I'm taking my sweet time with AS because I want to stretch out the excitement of the story line for as long as possible. :D I'm currently in Cave of Origins struggling to capture Kyogre without making it faint... :/_

_RubySmiley - A Voltorb named Ballin'? You are FANTASTIC! Also, PM me whenever you like! I love making new friends! (And trust me, nobody on this earth could drag me away from writing, so don't worry about interrupting or anything. I'll get back to you as soon as I can WITHOUT messing up the flow of the story.) :)_

_Smiling Loki - Absol FTW!_

_Veiton - So glad you're not lurking anymore and have come into the light! Looking forward to further reviews from you!_

_Ninten-fan143 - Never be afraid to give suggestions! The fact that Maxie is becoming a more central character is because people suggested Maxie so many times that I made it a love-square, so no worries! That is an interesting idea and we'll definitely see about it. :)_

_terracannon876 - Thank you for pointing that out about Tabitha. I'm not familiar with him at all, since I only did my research on Maxie. Truth be told, I thought Tabitha was a girl for the longest time until I looked him up! LOL I'm not going to go back and fix it, per se, but I can definitely make him more in-character in the future, and I can certainly come up with a reason why he was OOC in his debut. Maybe he was high? Who knows! Tabitha isn't an integral part of the story, but I want to keep everyone as in-character as possible, so again, thank you!_

_Next chapter is the one that all of you Maxie-May-Archie fans have been waiting for! It will have none of May's POV aaaaand...that's all I'm telling you!_

_Reviews are love and I get so much overwhelming encouragement I just can't stand it, there MAAAAAAY be a THURSDAY UPDATE! And, if the next chapter is out by then, there will ALSO be a Friday update!_

_So shower me with love!_

_(You all are already so fantastic anyways, I'm not sure why I'm asking for reviews anymore. I guess I just like hearing your opinions and comments so much that I just can't help myself!)_

_For those who didn't read the review replies, the region I would live in is Hoenn, specifically Alpha Sapphire. I'd also be Archie's partner, not just an Admin. ;)_

**Question: Favorite single-type Pokemon? For example, you could choose Torchic but not Combusken or Blaziken. It has to be single-type, no matter where it is in the evolution line!**

_Ta!_


	10. Chapter 10

_So, I'm totally nervous about this chapter. It's kind of out of my league of knowledge and is probably kind of unrealistic. However, for this story to work, the scenes here had to happen. Please don't bitch at me too hard for it! D: I did my best and realism or not, it should at least be entertaining..._

_Also, this is the chapter with no May or May POV at all, so enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Ten: Neanderthals and Frenchmen<strong>

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><p>May went home shortly after finishing her meal. Archie could tell she was tired and it was getting close to that time when he would have to round up Matt and a few other grunts to accompany him to the Keystone, a shady little pub that was frequented by both Magma and Aqua members. The Keystone was run by a man named Aarune, who was something of a mediator between the two gangs when it came to issues better settled with diplomacy, what few there were. He detested violence, so while the Keystone was definitely a dive bar where only the most daring of people went if they weren't affiliated with one of the gangs, it was also a place where fistfights and shootouts were enough to get one banned for life. Given the Keystone was a veritable treasure chest of new clientele and connections for both gangs, it was one rule that would never be broken under either Maxie or Archie's watch.<p>

Matt approached Archie outside the Keystone. Since it was his idea to meet up, Archie would use the advantage of getting there first to scope out who was already there. With the luck he had been having lately, first with that little shit Trent's attempt to snitch about them to the police and May getting sucked into Maxie's drug dealing business, it was completely likely that the place would be overrun with Magma members and only a few of his own.

Archie had vowed to obey Aarune's rules, but by god if there wasn't an alleyway just off the property. If it escalated to violence, he wanted to have the upper hand, which meant more manpower.

"Boss, Maxie just got back to us. He'll be here in twenty."

Archie grunted. "Good. That son of a bitch needs to be put in his place."

Matt chuckled, but keep a wary eye on the salivating pit bull held tightly on Archie's leash. Kyogre, while she seemed to be particularly fond of May, was actually trained as an attack dog. Archie himself had been more afraid of May's throat being shredded when Kyogre got out, not so much the licking to death that she had managed to receive. The pit bull was drastically large for her breed—possibly so much that it was record-breaking, although Archie had never bothered to check—standing at almost thirty-four inches at the shoulder and weighing almost one hundred and forty pounds. Archie no concerns for his safety when she was around, although his wallet's wellbeing was another matter altogether. The enormous dog ate about as much as a small elephant.

Then again, it was probably a good thing that Kyogre was so monstrous. Maxie's pet 'cat' would give her a run for her money if Kyogre was anything less.

Fortunately, Aarune was flexible enough to allow animals onto the premises, although this was only allowed to trusted customers. While Archie was glad to have this to his advantage, it was too bad that Maxie had also been allowed the same privilege. Keeping his hold on Kyogre's leash tight—she was trained to attack Magma members at the first sign of trouble—he passed the bouncer at the door, Matt right behind him, and quickly made his way towards the VIP room.

At a glance, it looked like the spread was rather even that night. Magma members noticed him enter and quickly averted their eyes, not eager to draw attention to themselves, especially when Kyogre was on the scene. A few Aqua members saluted him, to which he saluted right back, and then he opened the door to the room, where Aarune and his girlfriend Lisia were playing poker.

"Hey, man," Aarune said, nodding at Archie and not paying Kyogre a second glance. Both he and Lisia revealed their hands and Lisia whooped when her straight flush beat his four of a kind. When Aarune noticed that Matt was there, he stood up. "Yo, dude! What's up?"

Archie was not surprised. Matt and Aarune had grown up together in the Boston suburbs before Matt moved to Los Angeles when he was ten. However, upon Matt's return to the Boston/Cambridge area three years ago, they had been reunited through Aqua. Matt was a likeable guy, if not a bit arrogant. Archie used to think that having Matt on his side gave him an edge on Maxie, but Aarune had proved in the past that he kept business and pleasure quite separated. Friend or no, Aarune was an unbiased mediator.

As the two men clapped each other's backs and made small talk, Archie took a seat at one of the chairs on the back patio of the VIP room. Lighting up a cigarette, he rested the hand holding Kyogre's leash on his thigh and took a long drag.

"Sit," he absentmindedly commanded the dog. She sat immediately, looking up at him with wide brown eyes.

After Aarune and Matt had finished their little 'bro talk', Matt looked over at Archie for confirmation. Archie nodded and Matt took up a post not too far from where Archie was sitting, close enough to see but too far away to hear. It was an unspoken rule between the two gang leaders that when business was needed to be settled diplomatically, it was discussed between the two leaders and no one else.

Maxie was punctual to a fault, thankfully. He arrived with his loyal henchman Tabitha at his side, who took one glance at Matt and scowled before positioning himself in an equivalent position. Maxie took his leisurely time strolling over to the table Archie had occupied, Groudon following warily behind him.

Kyogre immediately began to growl threateningly at Groudon, whereas Groudon hissed and arched his back, tugging slightly at his leash. He swiped a few times and Kyogre barked at him, ears flattened and teeth bared.

"Looks like ole Groudon's PMSing," Archie commented with a smirk as Maxie took his seat. Casually, he flicked his cigarette and some of the ash on the tip landed on Maxie's hand.

Maxie did not deign to comment, commanding Groudon to lay down before regally brushing the cigarette ash off his gloved hand. "Smoking is a disgusting habit," Maxie sniffed. "But I'm not opposed to you killing yourself before I do."

"Ha!" Archie grinned at him, but it was more like a baring to teeth. "If you could kill me, you already would've by now. So save the shit-talking for your little pussy grunts."

Maxie smiled a little back, his lips curling disdainfully. "Such crassness. I only haven't killed you because it will be much more satisfying watching your stupidity end up doing the job first." He looked pointedly at the cigarette before continuing, "Enough with the pleasantries, however. What is so crucial that we couldn't have settled it…away from here?"

Archie was quite aware that Maxie was not fond of the club scene, especially the dive bars and specifically the Keystone. Maxie utterly loathed Aarune, but acknowledged the usefulness of the bar and therefore had not had it burned down yet.

Stamping out his cigarette in the ashtray, Archie leaned forward. All playfulness was gone from his eyes.

"You're trying to take somethin' that's mine," he told Maxie lowly. "And I don't take kindly to thieves."

Maxie rolled his eyes and looked exasperated by Archie's dramatic antics. "Whatever are you talking about?"

"May Andrews," Archie said simply.

The scathing look on Maxie's face disappeared and was replaced with stony apprehension. "May Andrews," he repeated flatly.

"Yeah. The one you just had do a deal tonight. She's leaving your shitty little bakery tomorrow and you're _not_ gonna put out a hit."

Maxie frowned. The expression came easily. "I had no idea that your lack of intelligence had truly reduced you to a Neanderthal, my _triste petite sotte,_" he said calmly. Archie glared at him. He hated it when Maxie spoke in French—usually because it just meant he was being insulted in another language. "May Andrews is her own person and free to do as she pleases. If she chooses to work with me and mine, then she is certainly free to do so and you have no choice in what she does. The fact that I employed her first has nothing to do with thievery." His glasses glinted a little in the dim lighting, revealing a particularly smug look on his face.

Archie smirked. "Whether or not she wants to work for you ain't the problem—she's already told me she's gonna quit. I'm just concerned for her safety afterwards, _your Highness_."

Maxie had obviously not been expecting this because he flinched a little, and Archie could all but hear that super-powered brain of his whirring at high speeds. He recovered quickly, however, and said, "Convince her to stay and you will have no need to fear for her safety."

"Oh, swell!" Archie said sarcastically. "If had just realized that earlier, then we wouldn't have even had to come down here!" He mockingly slapped himself on the forehead as though he'd had a revelation before leveling Maxie with a deadpan look. "You're missing the point, ya little prick. She doesn't want to work with you, _I_ don't want her working for you, and if you're just worried about getting snitched on, I can assure you that won't happen 'cause I won't let her." It was a well-known fact that if one of the gangs went down, so did the other, so it was truly to Archie's benefit to keep May quiet about the situation.

"That is not the issue," Maxie responded. "It is clear you have formed some sort of attachment to May Andrews and in any other case, I would not want to go anywhere near one of your whores." Archie's hands clenched into fists and he made to stand up. He told himself he wasn't going to hit Maxie, not yet, but he was sure as hell damn close to dragging him outside so that he _could_. Kyogre began to growl and snapped in Maxie's general direction, to which Groudon half-heartedly swiped back with his large paw. It was not in the nature of a big cat to protect its master, independent as they were, but Groudon the cougar had been trained well.

The redhead went on as if Archie hadn't had a reaction.

"However, May Andrews is not a whore, nor will she be _yours_. She has a rather splendid mind, doesn't she?" Maxie smirked a little at the thought of the eighteen-year-old. Archie slowly sat down, realizing that there was clearly much more negotiation to be done. "A little young, but she has so much potential! With the right guidance she could be transformed into a beautiful and intelligent woman, perfect for a man of my caliber." He glared at Archie then. "I will not have you polluting her mind with your idiocy. It is _you _who will stay away from her. She has the potential to do great things, and with me by her side, she _will_ do a great things. Your presence is not needed."

Archie scoffed. "I thought May was her own person and was free to do as she pleases?"

Maxie glowered when his own words were used against him, but had the grace to acknowledge his rival's victory. "So then we have come to an impasse. I will not allow her to be with you, and you will attempt to keep her away from me. What, then, do you propose?"

"Why, _Maxie_? You're coming to _me _for ideas? Fuck, I shoulda been recording this shit. The 'great Maxie' is coming to 'treest petty sot' for an-"

"_Triste petite sotte,_" Maxie corrected firmly. "It means 'sad little fool,' which you are. And no, I am simply allowing you to have input."

Archie lit up another cigarette and made sure to blow the smoke into Maxie's face. The redhead coughed a little and waved his hand in front of his face.

"Must you be so vulgar?"

"I dunno," Archie returned. "Is it even possible for you to grow a pair?"

The two glared at one another for a long moment before Maxie sighed and cleared his throat. "Never mind. I have come to a suitable solution. She will continue to work for me-"

"May ain't gonna join Magma."

"-yes, yes, if you would _let me finish_," Maxie said, coughing again when Archie blew more smoke into his face. He cleared his throat once more and regained his composure, blinking a little to get the smoke out of his irritated eyes. "As I was saying, May will continue to work for me. However, I have recently come to the conclusion that a brilliant mind like hers is wasted on the pettier workings of Magma. Cassandra has informed me that you live near her and have constant access to her. I acknowledge that I cannot prevent you from interacting with her, but you will also not prevent _me_ from interacting with her. As long as she continues employment at my bakery, there will be no need for violence."

"So that's how it is, huh? She either works for ya or you're gonna kill her?" Archie raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Doesn't sound like your 'claim' is coming from the right place."

"It is not May who will be the target," Maxie replied stiffly. "Aqua as a whole will be."

"So now you're growin' some balls," Archie laughed darkly. "As much as I like May, I can't say I'm willing to go on an all-out war for her—and you shouldn't be willing to, either. I ain't gonna get into a pissing contest over a chick."

"Then simply leave her to me," Maxie retorted. "It is obvious my conviction is stronger, so I will be victorious in the end either way."

"Bullshit," Archie snapped. "I'll show you some motherfucking conviction!" He raised his fist threateningly.

Suddenly, there was a gasp from Lisia and both of the gang leader's attention went to her. It turned out it was just a particularly large cockroach that Aarune crushed easily with his booted fot, but it was enough of a reminder to Archie that violence wasn't allowed here. He lowered his fist.

"So when does it end?" Archie grumbled, his hand still tightly clenched into a fist.

Maxie looked a little smug about the fact that his rival had been reminded that he couldn't attack him physically, which was where Archie truly had the upper hand. "When she makes her choice. For as long as she is an available female, these conditions are in place. Once she is in a relationship, then the truce ceases and all continues on as usual."

"Listen to you," Archie scoffed. "'Available female.' What are you, a Discovery Channel narrator?"

"Vous avez le corps d'un chien et le QI d'une durée de cinq ans."

"Sorry, I don't speak Pansy."

"You have the body of a dog and the IQ of a five-year-old," Maxie clarified, rubbing his temples in exasperation. "Do you agree to the terms?"

Archie decided to ignore the odd insult—it wasn't anything less than he would expect from his rival—and thought about it for a few moments. It sounded fair enough, but…

"No outside interference."

Maxie frowned and Archie immediately knew that he had caught on to one of the redhead's loopholes.

"Just you and me. Anybody else interferes, we go back to the drawing board or I blow up your goddamn bakery with you in it, whichever comes first."

The redheaded frowned even more deeply but relented. "As you wish."

"Then we got ourselves a deal." Archie stuck out his hand.

Maxie stared at the proffered appendage distastefully, but eventually they shook hands. And then, as though there had never been a conversation, both stood up abruptly and headed to their respective second-in-commands.

Archie watched as Maxie stalked away with Groudon and Tabitha as quickly as he could, his disdain for the Keystone never more apparent. He heaved a sigh and turned to Matt, who was sipping a beer and watching his boss with mild curiosity.

Archie snatched up the beer and downed it in one go. Matt was about to put up a fuss, but then the gang leader said, "I'll pick up the tab. Your job is to get us both so fucking drunk we can't walk straight."

Matt laughed. "Did it really go that well?"

Archie sighed dismally and they began to make their way over to the bar. "Doesn't matter how well it went. I always need to get shitfaced after dealing with that son of bitch."

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><p><em>Yes, Maxie speaks French. I don't know, it just made sense to me, since Parisians are so arrogant. Maxie seems like the kind of guy who would be intelligent enough to speak many languages, so keep an eye out for third and fourth ones!<em>

_Wow, as far as 'showering Of Healing Love with reviews' goes, you all basically overwhelmed me with love. THANK YOU! So, as promised, this was the Thursday update. As far as a Friday update, I'm not so sure, just because I'm not that far ahead yet. I always like to be at least one chapter ahead of what I'm posting, but if there isn't a Friday update, I promise that there will be a Saturday update! :)_

_Review time!_

_Special thanks to: TrueIchiro, reshiramu, MizukixTsukiyomi, DragonkynNatKiasu, JetravenEx, EnigmaUniverse, Felicity Dream, Akatsupure, bambam411, the cerulean samurott, L van Am, Pikas, Ninten-fan143, Senom299, Skyblu7, mupp3tbab3h, terracannon876, Alex T. Wallman, F. Flotsam, MasterShortPantsx3, Princess Mononoke 503, EndlessStorm, Okeanos-heart, j2jackson321, loli-belle, and Erika Elencia! You all are fantastic! I think this may be the most reviews for a chapter yet, so you all get a bag of Sour Patch Kids (yummm) and a Pokepuff of your choice!_

_YES, everyone, Groudon is not just your average kitty; HE'S A MOTHERFUCKING COUGAR! :D Groudon FTW. And I'm pretty sure Kyogre's size IS record-breaking as far as pit bulls go. But she had to be that big or else Groudon would easily kick her ass, which is totally not cool. They have to be equals!_

_TrueIchiro - If this story ever even starts to rival One Piece, I'm going to be left wondering where my life went. xD_

_DragonkynNatKiasu - My favorite starters are: Grass - Snivy/Servine/Serperior, Water - Oshawott/Dewott/Samurott, and Fire - either Cyndaquil/Quilava/Typhlosion or Charmander/Charmeleon/Charizard. Don't ask me to choose between the Fire types. Fire is my third-favorite type and I love all of them._

_JetravenEx - I'm particularly interested to see your reaction to cougar!Groudon. You'd better let me know what you think! ;) Personally, I would be horrified if Pokemon came into our world. So many people with bad intentions...they would probably be abused and mistreated and at first, they would be scientifically experimented on, which would piss me off so bad...So, if that happened, I'd make my team the strongest ever and make it a point to free abused Pokemon. I'd probably become N 2.0 and would kick the asses of anyone who dared to harm Pokemon. So yeah. I'd basically become a Pokemon vigilante. In the Pokemon world, everyone is peaceful enough to appreciate Pokemon. In this world? Not so much. So I personally hope that Pokemon never become real in our world. It'd be terrible. :(_

_Felicity Dream - How do you feel about Maxie calling out Archie's claim on May and calling him a Neanderthal? I, personally, appreciated that greatly. I wonder if you do, too? By the way, I'll be PMing you real soon!_

_bambam411 - As I've said in previously chapters, I live to convert people to new pairings. Thank you for being a successful experiment! :D Just kidding. I'm glad you like it!_

_L van Am - Friends with a protag? Definitely Calem. He's such a hottie... lol Either him or Brendan, just because Brendan's expressions in ORAS are just *squeal* ADORABLE!_

_Senom299 - Oh, gosh, you are just too sweet! Well, I'll never object to cookies OR reviews, so they're both greatly appreciated! You're awesome, too, just for reviewing! I adore all of my reviewers!_

**_YOU HEAR THAT EVERYONE?! I ADORE ALL OF MY REVIEWERS!_**

_Alex T. Wallman - Technically, Archie DIDN'T put her under his protection. However, it was implied last chapter that both Magma and Aqua spy on each other and so Archie is surprised that Maxie hadn't been told that Archie had already "claimed" May. I hope that helps! It was a little vague, so I definitely understand the question._

_F. Flotsam - "She nosedived down it blind folded with no helmet on." No truer words have been spoken about that chapter. LOL Consider that sentence appreciated!_

**Question: (Stolen from the cerulean samurott) If you could be best friends with any one protagonist from any version (not the anime/movies/manga) who would you pick?**

_Until next time, my lovelies!_


	11. Chapter 11

_Hey everyone._

_So I have to admit that I was a little saddened by the lack of reviews for last chapter. Not that you all are great and everything, but that was probably my favorite chapter to write so far and those who did review were awesome, but I can only assume that if you didn't review you probably didn't enjoy it as much as I did. :/ Oh well, I guess I just wanted to put that out there._

_The wonderful reviews I've been getting are what has assured faster updates. Obviously I'm not going to be a dick and say "Give me ten reviews or no chapter!" because that's just a majorly dickish thing to do, but if you want faster updates, reviewing is the best way to get them! I can't promise anything, but it definitely helps._

_This chapter is a little longer than usual and we get to interact with everyone (except Wally). I hope you all enjoy it!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Eleven: One Too Many<strong>

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><p>May stared at her phone in horror.<p>

To: May

From: Archie

Message Body: Talked to your boss. Go into work for your next shift. It'll be alright.

She quickly typed a rushed response, her fingers trembling as she did so.

To: Archie

From: May

Message Body: ARE YOU CRAZY?! IM NOT WORKING FOR A GANG LEADER AND I'M NOT SELLING DRUGS!

Archie's response came equally as fast.

To: May

From: Archie

Message Body: This is in everybody's best interests. Just trust me, ok?

May didn't bother to respond. It was eight in the morning on Tuesday. Her first class of the day, English Composition I, started in an hour and she was already dressed and ready to go, her schoolbooks packed away in her messenger bag and her subway year-long pass was stuffed into the front pocket of her black jeans. Her shirt was a tight light pink V-neck and she had her coat waiting for her by the door, since a cold front had come in overnight and it was less than fifty degrees outside.

Pulling on her black boots and zipping them up, May stomped out of her apartment and went straight to Archie's. No, she was not going to simply take his word that going to work that day was in any way a good idea. Maxie had tricked her into selling drugs and now she had dirty drug money waiting to be spent, although it was masterfully hidden away in her jewelry box.

She pounded her fist on the door loudly and heard Kyogre scrambling to the door, barking. However, she never heard Archie's lumbering footsteps following after, so she banged on the door again.

After three more tries and at least ten minutes of waiting, May growled in exasperation and dialed Archie's number, tightly clutching her cell phone. It wasn't so much that she felt obligated to listen to him as much as she was surprised at his change of tune. She was pissed off, and rightly so, at his sudden withdrawal of support.

The phone rang three times before it was answered.

"Uhng…hello?"

May's eyes widened in surprise. He had just been texting her a little bit ago and his responses had been coherent enough, so why did it sound like he had just woken up?

"I've been knocking on your door for like twenty minutes now," May exaggerated. "Let me in."

There was the sound of sheets being moved around and then another groan. "Do ya know how long," he yawned, "I stayed up last night," yet another tired groan, "working out a deal for ya?"

May's jaw dropped. "Wait," she screeched. "You actually _talked _to him? How did you even—what did you—_why?_"

"God fuckin' dammit you're loud," Archie moaned, his voice muffled by a pillow. "Can't you just leave a guy in peace?"

She felt a little guilty for yelling into the phone, especially since she had woken him up in the first place—had he really got up this early just to text her to go to work and interrupt his sleep on her account? May sighed. "Just…just give me one, just one, good reason why I should keep working for that guy."

Archie sounded a little more awake when he responded. "Because he's a psycho who's threatening violence if you don't."

May blanched, then all but yelled, "That's not a good reason!"

A man walking his dog in the courtyard to let it go to the bathroom looked up at her yelling and May flushed in embarrassment, knowing that she probably looking like a crazy person.

"Jesus Christ!" Archie exclaimed. "Tone it down!"

May frowned. "Can you just let me in? People are giving me weird looks."

"That's 'cause you're screeching like a banshee! Fuck! Look, go into work today and give it a shot. If it doesn't work out, I'll owe you a fucking ice cream or something, okay?"

"Make it dinner at the Red House and you've got yourself a deal."

Archie groaned. He sounded miserable and May felt just a _little _sorry for him. "Only if it's a date."

She couldn't stop herself from blushing. Swallowing heavily with excited butterflies fluttering in her stomach, she replied, "O-okay, deal."

"Great, fantastic, stupendous. Now let me go back to fuckin' sleep or I'm hanging up on you."

May giggled. She was too excited about her impending date—although she hated the fact that it was only happening because Archie, for some reason, was desperate for her to keep working at the bakery—to take his harsh tone of voice seriously "Sleep well," she said softly.

His only response was a loud snore.

Laughing outright at how obviously tired he was, she hung up the phone and went back to her apartment, preparing for school. She couldn't deny that she had a little bounce in her step on the way to the subway station.

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><p>xXx<p>

* * *

><p>English passed by without a hitch and May had decided that whether or not she had to go to work that afternoon, she was still going to stay in a good mood. She was terribly excited that her suggestion had led to Archie basically asking her out on a date. She was starting to get used to his gruff exterior and knew that despite his harshness, he was clearly attracted to her. After all, she had just been trying to get some really nice seafood out of the deal—<em>he<em> was the one who had made it a date.

She ran into Steven in the hallway. May was unable to stop herself from staring a little. Her TA was wearing light grey jeans and a black pea coat that looked absolutely fabulous on him, and his hair was a little messier than usual that day. The sexy bed-head combined with his attire was enough to make her drool. However, this acknowledgement didn't take the excitement off her date with Archie. Not only was Steven off-limits because of his status in the school, but she also didn't know him that well. Archie was handsome in his own way and she loved his personality, something she couldn't exactly say about Steven because again, she didn't know him that well.

She had almost passed Steven by when he suddenly caught her eye and approached her.

"Oh, hello May," he said, greeting her cordially. May's heart stopped and she was suddenly unsure of how to greet him. However, Steven easily passed over her deer-in-the-headlights look and smiled. "How's homework coming along?"

May cleared her throat and grinned at him. "Oh, it's fine. Geology is actually a lot more interesting than I initially thought it would be." At this, Steven looked very pleased and smiled warmly at her. She went on, "I haven't been able to come up with any ideas for the project though."

"Don't worry about that," Steven told her. "The project isn't really officially starting until October 2nd, so you have plenty of time. If you need any help, though, just know I'm always here."

She couldn't stop herself from blushing just a little bit. "Thanks so much," she said gratefully. "I did have a question though…"

They talked for a while more about the first chapter of the textbook and Steven was more than willing to help her. However, when the hallway started to get crowded, Steven casually asked her, "There's so much more I can say on the topic of mapping. Would you like to go across the street and get some coffee?" He paused. "Unless you have a class soon…"

May was as red as a tomato now. First Archie, then Steven? She couldn't believe her luck and was thoroughly ecstatic until she remembered that Steven was probably just being friendly. Archie was the one who had shown outright interest and while she was definitely still attracted to Steven, Archie was the one she was really hoping for. Nonetheless, she said, "Oh, my next class isn't for another hour. Are you thinking the Dunkin' Donuts?"

"Yes, it's actually the one where the pre-class meeting was held. It's only about a five minute walk from here and I promise I'll try not to ramble on too long. I tend to get carried away when it comes to geology." Steven laughed a little and May couldn't stop herself from laughing, too. She was trying her best not to beam at him too brightly.

They began to make their way out of the building and across the street. When they sat down and began talking, May realized that Steven was serious when he said he could get carried away. However, he kept the topics interesting and she listened intently, appreciating his passion for the subject. Unfortunately, however, this attentiveness to the conversation led her to be scrambling to gather her things when she realized she only had three minutes until Biology started.

"Oh, god," May said after looking at the clock. "I have to go!"

Steven looked at the clock on the wall, sensing her concern, and then began to apologize profusely. "I'm so sorry, May!" He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'm sorry for rambling on like that."

"No, no!" she insisted as she quickly grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "It was actually very informative and now I'm pretty sure I'll have an edge on the rest of the class." They smiled at each other before May ending up blushing at how gorgeous his smile made him look. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Of course. Good luck getting to your class!"

May nodded, waved, and then began to run to get to her class on time.

* * *

><p>xXx<p>

* * *

><p>He realized they had gotten off on the wrong foot, as he had already planned the illicit exchange before truly getting to test her mind. He had sent her on the run anyways simply because it had to be done and it was a way to ensure her loyalty. However, he had underestimated his rival's charisma as well as May's strong will. Cassie had told him she was living near Archie, although he had not realized how close the two were. Truth be told, Maxie did not care until the moment he had truly sat down and talked with her. After sending her on the run and seeing her reaction to it, it had become quite clear that May had not taken it as well as he would have hoped. Archie's interference was less than preferable, but the deal they had struck benefited him more so than Archie. May's first reaction after the exchange was to flee from her job and Archie's interference actually gave him an upper hand in the venture; if Archie hadn't been concerned for the girl's safety, May would have been able to leave the job without penalty.<p>

Maxie wouldn't have harmed her, despite what Archie had thought, because May had too much potential to be harmed over something petty like a drug exchange. As far as letting her escape completely, he had not come up with a suitable plan of action, although he would have in time. Now, however, he didn't have to, because May was currently walking in the door, her expression similar to a timid doe.

When she saw him, her eyes widened momentarily in panic before she nodded at him jerkily and went to the staff's break room, presumably to change. Cassie was in the kitchen, putting in the last batch of cookies and muffins for the day, and Tim was working the cash register, watching his boss nervously.

Maxie smirked inwardly. He did love to make little mice tremble with fear, especially when those mice were next to useless.

He waited for a few moments longer before leaving the front of the bakery and going back towards his office. Just as he had planned it, May came out of the break room as he was passing by. She looked terrified and the look didn't suit her, he thought. He had planned to have this conversation with her anyways, but it certainly was a motivator that he didn't want her to be afraid of him. Not when they could achieve so much together.

"May," he said, pausing in his walking. She flinched and turned to him, visibly swallowing. "Come with me to my office."

She looked distinctly like a deer in the headlights. He didn't know what flashed through that beautiful mind of hers, but it seemed to steel her resolve and she nodded. He began to walk and she followed obediently, although she lagged behind considerably with her reluctance.

Internally, Maxie sighed. It seemed May was going to make salvaging the situation more difficult than it needed to be.

* * *

><p>xXx<p>

* * *

><p>May used her impending date with Archie as way to keep her resolve strong. It was obvious that things needed to be worked out, and she absolutely would <em>not<em> sell drugs just for a possibly one-of date, but Archie had told her to trust him and so she would take that chance. As far as she knew, Archie had never been dishonest with her, so there was no reason _not_ to trust him.

She followed Maxie into his office and took a seat when he motioned to the chair. He sat down as well and looked at her calmly for a moment, as if trying to read her. May sat as still as she could and watched him back warily.

When he spoke, it surprised her. "I apologize for my oversight in sending you off last night."

May tried to keep her expression straight, but she couldn't help the slight widening of her eyes. Did that mean she wouldn't have to become a drug dealer to keep her job?

"I do feel compelled to inform you that keeping the exchange to yourself is truly in everyone's best interests," Maxie went on. "However, you will not be expected to continue dealing unless you are doing it of your own volition."

"No, thank you," May said quietly, averting her eyes. She felt a little better now that she had been apologized to.

"I understand that you are not particularly keen on continuing work here," Maxie said. May looked back up at him and frowned a little, confused as to why that would even be in question. She knew, although Maxie did not, that she was only here today on Archie's behest. Otherwise, she would have terminated her employment first thing that morning. "Unfortunately, I've taken a liking to…your work ethic and would appreciate if you would stay."

May nodded, acknowledging what he was saying but not giving confirmation nor dismissal of the idea.

"That is why I will be raising your hourly wages to ten dollars an hour should you choose to stay."

Her eyes widened almost comically. Ten dollars an hour was outrageous for the minimum-wage work she was doing. Was she really so important that Maxie would give her a raise just because he wanted to her stay at the bakery?

Then again, it was probably extra insurance that she didn't go talking to the police.

However, May had learned her lesson after the coerced drug deal. She wasn't going to go jumping at the prospect of more money just because it was available. She needed to ask questions and think it over.

"So I suppose that means my duties will be increased as well?" she asked.

"To a degree," Maxie agreed. He clasped his hand together on his lap and leaned back in his office chair. "It would be best if you did not mention this to your coworkers, though."

May mulled this over for a moment. "And what would my new responsibilities include?"

Maxie replied easily. "You will stop learning recipes and will be more involved with administrative duties, such as file organization and more secretarial work. I have not had an assistant in a long time and I believe that it would justify your increase in wages."

There didn't seem to be anything wrong with that. She didn't mind working the cash register and baking the sweet breads that were sold throughout the day, but this was an opportunity to learn a new skill that would actually be useful for further job opportunities.

"I need to think about it," she said in response. Basically, she needed to talk to Archie about it in case there was anything she was missing. He seemed like the kind of person who would find loopholes in Maxie's offer. "I'll get back to you by tomorrow at the latest."

Maxie did not seem overly pleased, but he nodded with a semblance of pleasantness. "Very well. As for working today, you're not needed until you have made your decision." He took out a small sheaf of paper and scribbled something down on it. "This is my personal line. I would appreciate it if you would call me there to inform me of your decision."

"Okay," May said, tucking the sheaf of paper into her pocket. "I definitely will."

"Good. Dismissed."

She slowly stood and then left the office, letting the door close quietly. She had to change back into her old clothes already, which was kind of a drag, but she did so without complaint.

Cassie passed her on her way out of the break room. "Hey! I thought you were on the schedule today?" she asked cheerily.

May quickly improved a response. "I had a lot of homework, so I talked to Maxie and he said make sure I kept up with my studies above all else." She held her breath as she wondered if that was an accurate depiction of her boss's priorities.

"Oh, yeah," Cassie laughed. May sighed in relief. "The boss is a stickler for education. Kinda sucks that you have so much homework this early on, though, eh?"

"Definitely," May agreed. She slung her messenger bag over her shoulder and began to leave, waving as she left. "See you around! I have to get home so I can start putting a dent in this."

Cassie laughed and waved back. May quickly made her way to the subway station, passing a nervous-looking Tim—but then again, when _didn't_ he look nervous?—and began to wait for next train to arrive. As she waited, she texted Archie.

To: Archie

From: May

Message Body: I went to work. He offered me a raise and I guess a promotion, too. I'm still not sure if I'm going to stay or not, though. I don't want to be tricked again.

After the train pulled into the station and May had seated herself, Archie's reply came. She stared at it with a frown, uncertain as to how he could be so sure of himself.

To: May

From: Archie

Message Body: He isn't tricking you. Makes sense you'd be worried, but don't. Seriously, just give it a shot, unless you want to be stuck looking for another job.

Then again, he had a point. Job pickings would be slim at this point and Harvard wasn't going to happen or staying happening if she didn't have a job.

She got off the subway and went back to her apartment. She texted Archie back, giving him a rather noncommittal answer, and then decided to actually start in on her homework. She did actually have some, although not the enormous workload that she had implied.

With a sigh, May made canned ravioli and then got to work on her introductory essay for English.

* * *

><p><em>Oh, and I forgot to mention, I'm deeply sorry for not updating Saturday. I just couldn't get the inspiration to come. However, I hope I made up for it with a slightly longer-than-usual chapter. :)<em>

_Review time! Everyone who reviewed last chapter gets an extra-special thank you!_

_Ninten-Fan143, Princess Mononoke503, Guest 1, Pikas x2 (you're awesome!), Felicity Dream, Skyblu7, becksterRES, loli-bele, bambam411, L van Am, Senom299, the cerulean samurott, Truce Ichiro x2 (you're fantastic!), Kassanta, Guest 2, EnigmaUniverse, Alex T. Wallman, MizukixTsukiyomi, Smiling Loki, and Akatsupure. Thanks guys!_

_First of all, there were a lot of you who liked cougar!Groudon. I thought it was a pretty awesome touch myself. To be more specific, Groudon is an Eastern cougar and they have reddish-tan coloring - a little like pokemon!Groudon. So yeah. You guys should look up a picture sometime. ;)_

_Felicity Dream - I think I told you this already, but the fanart you sent me of Maxie/May and Archie/May really got this chapter to the finish line. HOT FANART FTW!_

_Pikas - I plan to have everyone show up at some point or another, whether or not their role in the AU has anything to do with their role in the games. I don't really want to add too many OC characters if they're going to be integral parts of the story. The AU aspect and the fact that most of Team Aqua/Magma are grunts, it's necessary for me to add names for them, but they're still considered Grunts as far as the games go. Otherwise, I don't plan to have any completely OC characters._

_L van Am - If couldn't romance them, I'd probably pick Lysandre. He's got some pretty cool ideas for the world, if not a little wacko on the outside. xD_

_Senom299 - Yes, Google translate is a bitch. And I'm actually not using it for Maxie's insults. I don't have a background in French, but I found some rather credible websites that give legit insults written by people who have either lived in France or actually know French fluently. Hopefully I don't screw it up! Lol _

_Alex T. Wallman - Thank you! I think so far you're the only one who caught the secret-base reference with Aarune. I did think it was rather clever myself. ;)_

_MizukixTsukiyomi - My favorite gym leader is definitely Clair from Gen 2. I've always loved her. If there was a gym leader I would actually BE, it would be Clair._

_So that's it for review responses and again, THANK YOU to all who reviewed! You're fantastic. :D_

**Question: Who is your favorite gym leader from the first gen you played?**

_Thank you to you all and I hope you'll bless me with some awesome reviews!_


	12. Chapter 12

_Merry Christmas everyone!_

_So, while this is my Christmas update and a very special gift to you all, it does not actually reflect anything Christmas-y. :( I truly apologize for slowing down with updates recently; I've just been in a depression and it's been hard to get my head in the game. In fact, I haven't really updated anything at all in a while, BUT I plan to change that! Stick with me, peeps, because (I'm hoping) we're back in business!_

_Enjoy and Merry Christmas!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twelve: Olive Branches and Dates<strong>

May came to the decision that working at the bakery was really her only decent option at this point, especially since she probably wouldn't be able to find work elsewhere and definitely wouldn't get the opportunity to make ten dollars an hour. She wasn't the happiest camper about it, but Maxie had basically told her that she wouldn't have to do anything shady if she didn't want to—and she _didn't _want to—so other than knowing there was more going on at her workplace than met the eye, there wasn't any real reason not to work there anymore.

She woke up to a Wednesday morning that was dark gray and dour, as though the sky was throwing a temper tantrum. It wasn't raining just yet, but it surely would start to at some point during the day. This in mind, May made sure that she dressed appropriately for the weather—long gray camisole underneath a thick and woolly navy blue cardigan for extra warmth, her most comfortable pair of blue jeans, and rain boots. Her umbrella was probably her favorite part of the ensemble, although it didn't match: it had cute little baby chicks on it with a light orange background. It was large and a little gaudy, but May loved it nonetheless.

Slinging her messenger bag, full of textbooks and completed homework, over her should and tucking the umbrella under her arm, she set out for the day. She wasn't particularly hungry that morning so she wasn't eating anything at home, but with the five hundred dollars that she had deposited into her bank account just as the bank was closing the night before, she was certain she could afford the extra expense. It obviously couldn't become a habit, but the weather was affecting her mood already and making her feel a bit lazy. She could handle one five-dollar breakfast.

On her way to the bus stop, May decided that she should just get the likely to be awkward phone call over with and pulled out her cell phone from its exterior pocket in her messenger bag. She had plugged Maxie's number into it after leaving the bakery the day before, just because she knew she would lose that strip of paper with his number on it in the mess of her homework faster than she could blink if she didn't.

Taking a deep breath and clutching her umbrella a little too tightly in her nervousness, she dialed the number and waited for it to ring.

It rang once, twice, and… "Hello, May."

May flinched. "H-how did you know it was me?" she asked incredulously. The immediate image of him doing a background check on her or doing some weird sort of stalker-esque research made her even more nervous about the exchange.

"I happen to know my geography quite well," Maxie replied smugly. "623 is a Phoenix area code and Littleroot falls under its jurisdiction. As you are the only person from Arizona who would be contacting me, it was simply deductive abilities from there."

Still a little freaked out—although what he said made perfect sense and she already knew he was something of a brainiac—May nodded to herself. "Impressive," she said, a little grudgingly. She cleared her throat before continuing. "I think it's in my best interests to stay at the bakery, so I accept your offer." She tried to sound as confident as possible, but she couldn't help that her voice wavered just a bit. Somehow, Maxie was even more intimidating than Archie was, even when she first met him and was frightened by his size and physique.

"Very good," Maxie replied approvingly. "Then I will expect you to report in at four o'clock sharp. You won't need to work during the bakery hours as much as afterhours."

May stiffened and almost tripped over her own feet. "You said I wouldn't have to do anything that…I didn't want to," she said softly. It was a bad idea to go blurting out in public just _exactly_ what she didn't want to do, but she knew that Maxie would know what she was talking about.

"Rest assured, May, that you will not be involved in any of the unsavory activities going on behind the scenes at the bakery. However, your work is much more useful at the end of the day, when the bakery has closed, than while it is operating." The way he spoke was mildly comforting, and May was pretty sure that he was going to extra lengths to make himself sound less cold.

"Okay," she replied. He wasn't going to make her do anything illegal and Archie wasn't going to let him hurt her, so she was safe. On top of that, she was making a killer wage. It would be best to let go of her nervousness and try to get comfortable at the job again, since it was going to last for at least the rest of the school year. "Then I'll be there at four. Thanks."

"Good. I look forward to seeing you." And then the phone clicked and the connection was cut.

May shut off her phone screen and slipped the device back into its allotted compartment in her bag. There, that was done. She then went down her mental checklist.

Her job was secure and possibly better than ever.

Her homework for Monday and Tuesday was completed, thanks to the extra time off last night.

She was going to be on-time for school.

As for what hadn't been done yet…

She still owed the cafeteria a visit or else she was going to get hungry at a most inopportune time in the middle of algebra.

It was probably a good time to assess her bank account and allot money for rent, which was due in a week.

She was still waiting for Archie to text her with a time and day for their date, since she had followed through on her part of the bargain.

Then May realized that she hadn't informed Archie that she had kept her side of the deal, so as she boarded the subway she pulled out her phone yet again. Archie seemed more fond of texting than of phone calls—and also she didn't want to talk about an impending date in public—so she opened her screen and began to type.

To: Archie

From: May

Message Body: I'm still working at the bakery, so I followed through on my end. Now it's your turn. ;)

She didn't expect a reply right away. However, after she sent the message, she ended up rereading it and then she realized just how flirty she had been. A little embarrassed and wishing that she could have at least not put the winky-face, May's face burned red and she slouched in her seat.

By the time she exited the subway at her stop, it had begun to drizzle. Opening her umbrella, she stepped out into the rainy day and prepared to focus on school.

* * *

><p>Throughout the day, the rain had become a steady downpour. Her umbrella had become her best friend as she walked down the road, avoiding puddles when she could, towards the bakery.<p>

Just as she was opening the door—it was a little before four, so they hadn't locked the doors yet—Cassie was going out the other way. They bumped into each other, both letting out a surprised yelp, and then Cassie began to laugh.

"Hey, what're you doing here so late?" she asked. "It's closing time."

"Uh…" Maxie had made it clear that it probably wasn't going to be the best idea to tell Cassie and Tim about the raise for the newbie, so she quickly had to improvise. "Oh, I wasn't working today," she lied. "I just left something here yesterday and had to pick it up."

Cassie frowned and May wasn't so sure the other girl believed her, but soon the frown faded and the brunette shrugged. "Oh, alright. Well, I was just heading out." May noticed that Cassie was wearing her usual Red Sox jersey and jeans combo instead of the gaudy red uniform. "Tim's closing. I'll see you around, okay?"

May smiled. "Definitely."

Tim didn't pay her much notice as May slipped into the break room to change. She wasn't sure if she still needed to wear the uniform if she wasn't going to be seen by customers, but Maxie always seemed to wear red so she decided she was better off safe than sorry.

Shortly after she had changed, she walked down the hallway and knocked on Maxie's door. He beckoned her inside and she entered, exhaling all her nerves in one breath and telling herself to be confident. Everything was going to work out and she just needed to trust Archie and Maxie as much as she could.

May found that Maxie was extremely efficient and was indeed looking for her perfectionism to shine when she worked for him as his assistant. He set her about filing receipts, booking appointments—she hadn't realized so much went into making the bakery run—doing simple math to come up with net profit for the day, and other menial tasks that she was sure were only a bother to him.

After she settled in and was working at a set but speedy pace and Maxie was busy typing away something on his computer, he surprisingly started a conversation.

"So, May, what are you majoring in at Harvard?" he asked casually as he clicked the mouse and the printer in the corner began to start up. May glanced up at him, then down at her work, and decided that he was probably offering an olive branch to repair the relationship between himself and his new assistant.

"I'm studying marine biology," she replied, flipping through the file cabinet and rearranging a few of the folders that weren't in alphabetical order. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to minor in environmental sciences, too, because my goal is to help stop the pollution of the ocean."

Maxie hummed noncommittally. "And what inspired you to make this noble effort?" He was typing again.

May found an 'H' between 'O' and 'P' and quickly put it where it was meant to go. "I've always loved the ocean. My parents used to take me on vacation to whatever beach I wanted when I was little and so it's always been close to my heart. But one time we went to the beach up near Alaska and it was closed off because there had been an oil spill and there were lots of dying sea animals on the shore. I was probably eight or nine and it was really traumatizing, so ever since then I've wanted to stop that kind of thing from happening."

"Interesting," he said, his eyes fixed on the computer but still sounding committed to the conversation. "As they say, '_Il vaut mieux faire que dire,' __however."_

_May's brow furrowed as she flipped through a folder that was direly out of order. "What does that mean? I know a little French, but I'm nowhere near fluent. I'm assuming it __is__ French, though, right?"_

_"Good girl. Yes, it's French, and it means 'Doing is better than saying.' You say you're going to school for it, but you've been dedicated to helping the ocean since you were young. Have you done anything between now and then to prove your commitment?"_

_May immediately knew that he was testing her yet again. He seemed to be into that kind of thing for some reason. Getting a gauage one's genuineness and fortitude seemed to be important to Maxie._

_"Well, yes, but not as much as I'd like," she answered honestly. "Littleroot isn't really anywhere near an ocean, so my abilities to do good have been limited, but when I was ten, my school had a science fair and I did a project about how to test the salinity of water around the world. Nothing fancy or anything, but I got an award because at the same time I did a fundraiser with the project and donated all the proceeds to an oceanic wildlife organization." May laughed a little and closed the file cabinet, picking up the files that needed to be re-categorized by Maxie, since that wasn't in her job description. "It's surprising how easy it is to get adults to donate to a little kid's cause."_

Maxie glanced at the files she placed on his desk and nodded before taking one and leafing through it. "Hmm, yes. It sounds as if you truly know what your goals are and that is admirable."

May blushed lightly at the tone of approval in his voice. "Thanks."

"That will be all for today," he said. "There's more work to do, but schoolwork always comes first."

"Oh…alright," May said. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was about seven, so she had worked a total of three hours, and she had made just about the same amount of money as if she had worked four hours. Yes, ten dollars an hour was a good rate. "Then…I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"No," Maxie said, snapping the folder shut. "Come in on Saturday. You will be working the full eight hours in the front, as there will be too many questions asked if you don't show up for normal hours." He smiled wryly. "You'll be earning two dollars more than both Cassandra and Timothy for the same work, so I expect you to work your hardest."

May nodded resolutely. "Of course."

"Very well. I will see you then." She was about to exit when Maxie stopped her. "Oh, and before I forget…" He pulled out a shiny silver key from one of the desk drawers. "Since you will be working hours later than when we are typically open, it would be prudent for me to give you a key so you may let yourself in."

May panicked a little inside at the major responsibility being handed to her, but nodded nonetheless. "Alright."

"Don't lose it," Maxie warned. "That key could be very valuable to those who know what to look for."

She didn't even want to think of the possibilities. Quickly attaching the key to the keychain that had her house and mailbox keys, she nodded yet again before waving. "Thank you. See you Saturday."

Maxie nodded and then May left the store.

She finally received a text from Archie as she was taking a seat on the subway. Excitedly, she swiped open her phone and read his text.

To: May

From: Archie

Message Body: Fine, fine. I'll pick you up at seven on Friday. Cool?

Friday was only two days from then, but it immediately felt like forever. She knew she couldn't stay out too late because she would have to be at work at nine in the morning the next day, but seven was early enough.

To: Archie

From: May

Message Body: That's great. See you then. :)

May thoroughly basked in the joy of an impending date for the rest of the night; not even College Algebra homework could dim her shine.

* * *

><p><em>Yay for MaxieMay! And YUP, the Archie/May date is happening next chapter!_

_A HUMONGOUS THANKS TO: Princess Mononoke 503, Kaica, Kaz, Hunter the Weavile, Beepbop, Jimjam, CroutonGod, notflowers, reshiramu, Darling Grim, EnigmaUniverse, TrueIchiro (x2), Felicity Dream, Zannatigeris, , Jay Lightning Strike, sunpilot, bambam411, pyr0technic, Swiftfire Mews, Seas and Shadows, the cerulean samurott, Guest 1, ZeroBunny (x2), Akatsupure, Alex T. Wallman, Queen JJ, MizukixTsukiyomi, JetravenEx, FireRain1999, Okeanos-heart, EndlessStorm, loli-belle, MasterShortPantsx3, 0Shadow Panther0, Pikas, LeprechaunGreen, terracannon876, j2jackson321, ishdirections, L van Am, Skyblu7, and becksterRES!_

_HOLY RAYQUAZA, PEOPLE! SO MANY REVIEWS! You guys say so many nice things to me...well you all are fantastic! To everyone who reviewed the last chapter, you guys rock my socks all the way to the North Pole! :D Thank you for making me feel so loved on this wonderful Christmas day. *hugs all of you*_

_Response time!_

_Princess Mononoke 503 - You're so sweet. :) Update is here!_

_Kaica - Glad to have you with us! I'm so happy you like the story - I've put a lot of effort into it. I hope it continues to meet your expectations!_

_Kaz - This is entirely unrelated, but your chosen username is the name of one of my friend's characters in our RPG game. Just wanted to let you know that you're awesome because of that! :D_

_Hunter the Weavile - My favorite gym in Hoenn is Flannery. She's sooooo pretty. And fire-type too!_

_notflowers - That is correct! Reading fanfictions is TOTALLY productive! ;) And you're very welcome. Procrastinating is one of my talents, except when it comes to Fanfiction updates, fortunately._

_EnigmaUniverse- Well, spotty internet aside, you are SO kind for leaving a review anyway! You've been reviewing this story since I can't remember which chapter and I'm thankful for every single one!_

_TrueIchiro - Yay for accounts! After this chapter, it seems prayer circles are not needed! My favorite first-gen gym is...hmm...Oh! Sabrina for sure. She has some badass pokemon. And I LOVE ORAS. Better than I could ever have expected. I was a little hesitant with the new Mauville setup, but now I really like it. :) _

**_TO EVERYONE WHO WANTS PET!RAYQUAZA: just you wait... ;)_**

_Felicity Dream - coughdoIheararequestforaharemcoughcough LOL And half-naked Giovanni? WHY ARE YOU DENYING ME?!_

_sunpilot - The only kind of hospital that doesn't allow phones is the kind of hospital I'm wayyy too familiar with. :( I totally get the tough-weekend thing. I've had some seriously rough holidays myself. I hope you're feeling better and if you ever need any kind of support or just want to talk, FEEL FREE to PM me. (If I'm assuming correctly, and I won't know unless you PM me because I won't post something like that where everyone can read it) I've been through some shit myself and if you ever need to talk, I'm always here. :)_

_pyr0technic - Unfortunately, I ABHOR Archie/Maxie. I don't know why, it just doesn't sit well with me. I don't do anything yaoi, so no, this won't have any Archie/Maxie. Sorry to disappoint! :(_

_Seas and Shadows - Aww, why do you feel rejected? PM me and we can talk it out!_

_ZeroBunny - Yes, I got both reviews! Thanks so much! And thank you for the tips! :)_

_JetravenEx - I am indeed a female. Cisgender female all the way. If I could change something in Pokemon? I'd make it so there was a more social aspect to it. Like, you could build relationships with other characters (not necessarily romance or anything) but kind of like...hmm...like Harvest Moon, I guess. Where you can become friends with people and get cool stuff and cut scenes from becoming friends with them. I dunno. Kinda lame, maybe? :/ I don't know. It would just interesting._

_EndlessStorm - Next chapter is the date! Sorry to disappoint! :(_

_terracannon876 - Maxie's interest in May right now is slowly building, so that's the reason it's not clear why he's into her. Don't worry though - we'll have some Maxie POV soon that clears all of that up!_

_becksterRES - We WILL, in fact, see Brendan again. No worries!_

_No question this time, I'm on holiday! Anyways, please review and show me that wonderful love! :D You guys rocks!_

_Cheers and Merry Christmas!_

_Of Healing Love_


	13. Chapter 13

_Hey everyone! Long time no see!_

_So, I was immensely surprised at how many of you went to my other stories when this fic took a little vacation. Wow, I'm so touched! You all are so sweet and wonderful, I just adore all of you!_

_We have a lot of people to address, so look to the end of the chapter for your responses! I'll try to get to everyone without taking up too much space!_

**_NOTE: THERE IS AN ARCHIE/MAY THREE-SHOT ON MY PROFILE NOW! ALL OF YOU WHO ARE SHIPPING ARCHIE/MAY, CHECK IT OUT! :D_**

_And now, I present to you: The Archie/May Date!_

_Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen: Touché<strong>

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><p>The day of May's date—her <em>first<em> date, she had realized, which made the butterflies in her stomach feel more like miniature jackhammers—she could think of nothing other than what she was going to wear, how she was going to act, whether or not it would be awkward, was he maybe, possibly insane to even like her like that, _oh god what was she going to do?_

Bouts of low self-esteem and near-panic attacks aside, though, she was incredibly excited. She had decided rather arbitrarily over night that she_ really_ liked Archie. No, he wasn't her type in the way that he had immediately caught her eye, but she was starting to believe that maybe the personality aspect was more important to her. Never having had a relationship before, or at least not a real, adult one like she would possibly have with Archie—and was she maybe getting ahead of herself here? Fuck it, she was allowed to indulge in girly flaws occasionally!—made this so much more monumental for her.

In the end, she found herself calling Brendan for help, not for a moment remembering that he was a guy and had no experience with the girl's end of a date. He'd had a few girlfriends in high school, but they all inevitably ended with the same deal breaker: a girl by the name of May Andrews. Those poor adolescent girls couldn't manage having a boyfriend that also had a female best friend who he wasn't willing to abandon just because they wanted him to. That hadn't meant it was any easier on Brendan, as one of the girlfriends he had truly had some deep feelings for, but he never had held it against her or May.

"I don't know what to wear!" May babbled into the phone. "He's thirty-one, so he wouldn't want anything cutesy, because I don't want to stress the fact that I'm thirteen years younger than him and make him lose interest." She easily recalled with some shame the 'daddy' conversation she'd had with him. "But I also still want to be myself, you know? He obviously likes me for my personality so I have to accentuate that and play on my strengths and be who I am because that's the most important part in a relationship but I've never been in a relationship before so I don't know how to act and I know I should be myself but if I'm myself I probably won't want to move too fast and what if he wants to kiss me at the end and I've never kissed before and I might suck and do I really want my first kiss to be with him and god, I'm such a bad person for thinking that about the man I'm about to go on a date with but it's really that I just don't want to embarrass myself and-"

"MAY! Calm the fuck down!" Brendan all but shouted.

She giggled almost hysterically. "You sounded just like him for a minute there." Of course, it wasn't meant to last. "_What the hell am I going to do?_"

"Well," Brendan started, "you had a few things right just before you went off into psychoville." May scowled at him, but he couldn't see, not that it would have deterred him. "Just be natural. If you try to be someone you're not, it sounds like this guy won't take it too well. If he's a smart guy, he's already aware of the age difference and doesn't care, so just forget about that. I mean, probably don't wear your Hello Kitty hoodie-" May scoffed at him while simultaneously reddening—she should probably get rid of that, it didn't fit anyways "-and just dress tastefully. Wear, I don't know, black. That's always a safe color."

"Black?" May repeated contemplatively. "Yeah, but I'd look weird in only black. Maybe a little bit of color…" She swiftly dove into her closet's contents in order to find the article of clothing she was picturing.

"Yeah, black, I guess. And-and-FUCK. I'm a guy! This is not my job!"

"I know," May sighed dismally. "You don't know how many times I've wished you were gay before. Actually, I'm wishing it right now."

"HEY! You can't-"

"Here it is!" May exclaimed as she fished out the shirt she was looking for. Paired with the pencil skirt she had chosen as a prospective part of her outfit, she would look fantastic. "Okay, gotta go! Thanks, Bren-Bren!"

"You wish I was gay and now Bren-Bren? You really are losing your-"

"Love you! Bye!" She interrupted him succinctly and then hung up. He would have to forgive her later—she now only had fifteen minutes to get ready, which normally wouldn't be an issue, but _this was her first date ever!_

May quickly dressed herself, slipped on the soft black boots that would go perfectly with her outfit, and then proceeded to put on extra makeup while still being tasteful about it. After her eyes were lined with a thin layer of black, her eyelashes lengthened and flared out with mascara, and had touched up her lips with some light pink lip gloss, she took in her appearance in the mirror and nodded. Determined, she grabbed her purse and was just about to sit down when there was a knock on the door.

Her first reaction was to freeze like a deer in the headlights, but after that one painful moment of genuine panic, she resolutely took a deep breath, smoothed out her white blouse with black accents and calmly answered the door.

Archie had looked like he was about to say something snarky, but when he saw her, he froze. It was only for a singular moment that he seemed to drink in her appearance, but it was enough to make May turn bright red and in turn look at him.

It relieved her on an incredible level that it looked like he had put some effort into his appearance; he wasn't wearing his customary blue bandana, instead letting his messy cropped brown hair reign free. He had trimmed his beard and evened out its shape, too, which combined with the messiness of his hair was enough to change his look altogether. May decided that she really liked him without the bandana—a _lot_ more. He was wearing a navy blue button-up that seemed stretched almost painfully over his pectorals and biceps, truly accentuating just how muscular he was. The casual black slacks he wore didn't really seem his style, but it looked perfectly fine on him, honestly. For the first time, May realized what the term 'epitome of masculinity' actually entailed. His appearance appealed to something primal in her—just seeing him like this made heat pool in her abdomen.

"Wow."

And then the moment was over.

"Wow, yourself," May said teasingly, although the effect was probably ruined by her bright blush. Archie just shrugged as she closed and locked the door behind her.

"I have to say, 'I'll pick you up' is a pretty fuckin' loose term," Archie said casually as they began to walk towards the subway. "I literally had to walk about ten feet from my front door to yours."

May laughed. "If either of us had a car, it would be a whole other level of awkward."

Archie turned and regarded her with a smirk. "Who said I didn't have a car?"

This took her by surprise. "But-but last time-wouldn't it have been faster with a car?"

"Really?" He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Jeez, sometimes I forget that you haven't lived here all that long. It usually takes longer to drive places than just walking or taking the subway. Whole fuckin' Boston area's that way."

It was then that May remembered that Wally's Aunt Veronica had said pretty much the same thing. "Huh." She blushed for an entirely different reason then. "Does that mean we're driving?"

Archie crossed his arms behind his head, resting his neck as he leaned back into them. Without his bandana, it occurred to May that he looked a lot like a surfer boy in that position. "Of course. I may be a little rough around the edges, but I know better than to fuck up a date by taking the T."

_T means subway,_ May reminded herself. "I guess so," she said. "I don't know why it never occurred to me that you'd have a car, though. You don't really seem like the type for some reason."

Archie shrugged. "I don't really use it, honestly. Gas is expensive and I enjoy the exercise-"

"Not that you need it," May complimented subtly.

"-but it's always nice to have something to impress the ladies with," he finished, winking at her.

May was pretty sure that she would be permanently blushing throughout this date.

When they approached the car, May almost gasped. There, in front of her, was a bright red '57 Chevy. It had been maintained impeccably throughout the years and was probably worth more than she was at this point.

At her flabbergasted expression, Archie chuckled. "Told you it'd impress the ladies."

May glared at Archie for a moment before smacking him lightly on the bicep. It kind of sucked that she had to reach up to actually hit him there. "If you drive that out, I'm going to be fending women off left and right. Is that even fair?"

Archie boomed a laugh and unlocked her door before opening it to let her in, something she found to be a surprisingly gentlemanly gesture. She grinned at him and slipped in.

When he had gotten in and started the car, he answered her. "Don't worry. I'm a one-woman kinda guy." He didn't give her a particularly meaningful look, but he did maintain eye contact. May smiled at him softly before looking out the window as he pulled out of the parking space and then onto the road.

"I'm glad you know where we're going, because I have no idea," May admitted as Archie seamlessly switched lanes.

"Cambridge ain't hard to understand once you've been here a while. You only moved up here, what, a month ago?"

"Just about," May agreed.

"You ever lived anywhere else before Littleroot?" he asked after a moment of concentrating on driving.

Conversation flowed easily from there. Archie showed genuine interest in getting to know her. Not that they hadn't gotten to know each other already, but it was in a different context this time and May decided that she really liked this aspect of the date. As it turned out, she also got to learn a lot about Archie.

It turned out that Archie had come from generally poor origins, growing up in the slums of Brooklyn—although, surprisingly, he didn't have an accent to reflect that upbringing. He had graduated high school, though, which relieved May a little because her parents would blow a gasket if she was dating a high school dropout, no matter how well he was doing for himself now. After that, he had taken to traveling the world, working as a crewman for cargo ships, the occasional cruise, and other exploits of the sea. May personally was excited about this because he knew so much about the sea and sailing, which she would be doing a lot of after she graduated. He had even worked for a fisherman in Alaska for a short period of time.

By the time they got to the topic of what he did now for work, they had already arrived at the restaurant and been seated. May ordered herself a lemonade while he ordered a beer, but it was as though the waiter wasn't even there for all that the conversation was interrupted.

"So, I know you probably can't answer this, but are you like some sort of…secret agent or something? FBI was my guess, but I wasn't sure." May honestly couldn't think of him doing anything else with all that she knew about him.

Archie promptly choked on his beer. Thumping his chest with his fist, he slowly regained composure—he was rather hindered by the fact that he was laughing so hard he was turning red. May was red for another reason: embarrassment.

"Well, I didn't know what else to think!" she exclaimed. "In my defense, not many people would recognize a-" she stopped herself at the last minute, knowing that bringing up a bomb so shortly after the explosion at Dawes Island Park was an unwise decision. "…well, you know. And, I don't know, it just made sense…"

"Sorry, babe, but that's probably the last thing I'd ever do. I'm all for the life of danger, but working for our _beloved _government is something I wouldn't sink to even if I was faced with a fucking death sentence." Archie started to laugh again, but at May's questioning look, he stopped and then suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"Well? What do you do?"

He floundered for a split second before saying, "Mostly under-the-table work. It's not the most glamorous of existences, but it gets the bills paid."

May wasn't sure how to feel about this admission, but she decided it could be worse. How it could be worse, she wasn't sure, but he did seem well off enough, and as long as he wasn't breaking the law, she wasn't going to object. In the end, she shrugged and changed the subject.

Dinner went on peaceably after that. The conversation about his work was the only thing that really put a blip on her radar, but it wasn't enough to ruin her date. In the end, Archie covered their bill—which was nothing to sneeze at—and May decided she didn't care what he did for work. As long as he wasn't a criminal, she truly had no problem with it.

They drove back and were still talking up until the point he walked her up to her door.

"I had a really nice time," she said, blushing. She was both terrified and desperately hoping that he would kiss her. She just couldn't die of heart failure before then.

"Hah, I'm glad you did. I'd like to take you out again, if you don't mind." He was smiling gently at her, looking at her as if she was the most beautiful thing on the planet, and it made her feel giddy.

"I'd like that," she said. And then he was leaning down and she closed her eyes, waiting for that magical moment…

And then he pecked her on the cheek and pulled back with a mischievous grin. Her eyes snapped open and she glared at him, suddenly realizing she had made a fool of herself.

"You jerk!" she snapped, crossing her arms and pouting.

"Gotta keep you comin' back for more," he said, not looking at all remorseful. Winking at her, he turned to leave.

May decided she wasn't going to let him win like that. He might be older, but he wasn't going to have the upper hand.

"Hey, hold on a minute," she said as casually as possible.

He turned around, looking at her questioningly.

"No hug?" May said innocently, holding out her arms.

Archie laughed and let her hug him, and then, just as they were pulling away, she caught his lips for a long moment. The moment their lips touched his arms made to hold her to him, making it clear that he actually had nothing against the idea of kissing her—and possibly wanted to do more—but she slipped out from under his grasp.

"Gotta keep you coming back for more," she said by way of explanation, throwing his words back in his face. When Archie realized that he'd been played, he laughed amiably.

"Touché, my dear."

"Good night," she said genuinely, all games over. He nodded and her and returned to sentiment before heading inside to his apartment with a long, lingering look just as the door was closing.

May entered her own home and touched her fingers to her lips, which were tingling from the grizzle of his beard and the electric spark she'd felt when their mouths had touched.

As far as first kisses went, May decided she hadn't done too bad.

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><p><em>So, I had the original Chapter 13 written a while ago, but it didn't have my heart in it, and I really wanted this chapter to be awesome. So, was it awesome? Even you people who aren't shipping ArchieMay, let me know how I did!_

_First of all, thank you to all who reviewed: Dreamtraveler1313, Hallelujah It's Food, Lady Deviance, DayDreamerKnight, GleamingCoral, Guest1, lightxhope2124, shipping, Shadow's Interceptor, suzukeii, Rifts, Bloodywings90, EclipseKuran, MizukixTsukiyomi, korras, Porphyritic, DragonkynNatKiasu, Kaica, hahalolsmileyface, Princess Mononoke 503, Akatsupure, Hieroglyphic, Kaz, Pikas, ZeroBunny, MissQuiet, statickandy, TrueIchiro, EnigmaZZ, Okeanos-heart, Smiling Loki, and L Van Am!_

_Review response time! Whew, we might be here a while. You wonderful people..._

_GleamingCoral: Wow, it is an honor to hear you say that! Thank you so much!_

_lightxhope2124: Multiple endings are a possibility. I'm not sure about it yet, I need to get further along with the story, but it's a possibility!_

_suzukeii: Oh dear! I hope your mother is doing okay! And no, it was not intentional, but that's a secret! From here on out, IT WAS INTENTIONAL! :D_

_korras: Well, there's your Brendan! I hope you enjoyed him! And I'm so glad you've decided to review - it's so nice to hear from my readers!_

_DragonkynNatKiasu: Rayquaza is a thought in the making. I already know what it will be, but I'm going to let you keep guessing whether or not there will be Rayquaza and what it will be if I decide to include it. ;) No spoilers! And, my favorite Bug-type? Probably Scizor. I can't help it - Scizor's a badass. No two ways about it!_

_Kaica: Yes, 'scary why' is pretty much the perfect description of what May's feeling for Maxie right now. Kudos to your descriptive abilities!_

_Felicity Dream: I COMMAND YOU TO TELL ME HOW THE ARCHIE/MAY DATE WENT! I'm genuinely curious. And thank you so much for your concern, it was very kind of you. :) Hearts!_

_Princess Mononoke 503: Like I said to Felicity Dream, thank you for your concern. I'm doing okay, I've been through a bit of a rough patch recently, but I'm a survivor and always will be. And yes, I believe I'm friends with anyone who wants to be on FFN! You all are great!_

_Smiling Loki: God, you don't even know how tempting it is to have a dog!Absol. Wow. That never even occurred to me...Damnit! Curse you for tempting me! D:_

_And to all you amazing people, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! I know we're far past all that, but thank you for the well-wishes. I hope to be updating more now - I'm having a rough time of things recently, but I swear that I will try not to let it affect my updates._

_Also: **FOR THOSE OF YOU SHIPPING ARCHIE/MAY, CHECK OUT THE THREE-SHOT ON MY PROFILE!**_

_Now...attack me with reviews!_

_Cheers and love!_


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